Kingdom Hearts I: Seeker of Darkness
by Marsuvees
Summary: The Epic of Kingdom Hearts begins on a small group of Islands, with a boy and his two best friends. But when beings of darkness known as Heartless attack, the boy, quite average::or not?::, is thrust into the adventure of a lifetime. -The End-
1. Destati: A Dive to Heart

_(Rated "T" just to be safe)  
_

_Firstly, I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything related to it. This is simply a fanfiction. In case that wasn't already obvious..._

_Secondly, this is a novelization of the first Kingdom Hearts-WAIT! This does not mean this story is entirely old-hat to you. There's quite a bit of new, touched up, cool stuff in these pages that you might enjoy. Kingdom Hearts, the game, was a wonderful, beautiful, amazing story-but directly copy and pasted, it wouldn't make a good book. Therefore, here, I have attempted to touch up the story-adding some there, removing some here, cleaning some way over there. From what I'm told, it's quite a bit different than the game.  
This is Kingdom Hearts I, but it's more story than game.  
__  
So, please, have a seat, grab a cup of your preferred drink and enjoy this wonderful story. I'm told it's quite good. :)_

Thirdly, I've updated some of the content of this story simple because it is the first part in a series(and I don't just mean CoM and II). This first fanfiction is the first a long Epic I am planning to write(including a completely original KH3 and prologue story), thus some of the following is completely made up by me, in addition to have been a part of the game we all love.

_And now, without further ado, here is Chapter One of Kingdom Hearts! I hope you enjoy this adventure with me!_

* * *

_**Chapter I: Destati-A Dive to Heart  
**~We May Profess to Know the Heart, but it's Essence is Beyond our Reach~_

_"_I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Like is any of this for real? Or Not?"

A young boy floated through darkness, his body weightless. He had spiky chestnut hair, wore a red jumpsuit covered by a black and white jacket and on his feet were oversized yellow shoes. This was Sora Taiyou.  
Slowly, but gaining speed quickly, Sora began to sink through what appeared to be dark water. Suddenly he stopped and opened his cerulean eyes, finding himself on a beach. The sun blazed down, forcing him to squint to see the other, new boy standing knee-deep in the clear, bright blue water in front of him. This new boy had shoulder-length silver hair and a sleeveless yellow shirt criss-crossed with two straps, he also wore simple jeans. This was Riku Jishin.

Riku had his back turned to Sora and seemed to be watching a giant wave form farther out in the ocean. As the wave approached, Riku turned calmly turned to Sora and reached out his black-gloved hand. His turquoise irises, occasionally blocked by silver bangs, met Sora's blue ones, inviting him out into the ocean. Sora stepped forward and felt his shoe land in water. The urge to run out and meet Riku and the wave began to form in his mind and push him forward. Riku's hand still stretched out, unmoving. He showed no sign of knowing about the wave behind him. Sora began to sprint through the water with all his might, trying to reach Riku before the wave did. Just as Riku was in spitting's distance, the wave crashed down, sending Sora flying back, head-over-heels. When the tumbling stopped, Sora found himself completely underwater. Riku floated a few feet away, arm outstretched. Completely unperturbed. Sora moved through the water, trying to reach Riku, but a strong current flowed past his friend and shoved the chestnut-haired boy back mercilessly. Sora attempted to fight it, but the current was too strong.

Sora felt himself moving upwards and soon broke the surface of the water. It was now evening and the sun was setting behind him, sending off rays of red and pink light to paint the clouds. He heard a voice call to him from the shore and he looked over to see a young girl about his age waving to him. She had short, auburn hair and dark blue eyes. She wore a sleeveless white shirt, pink skorts and a pair of white shoes. She was smiling. This was Kairi Yureru.

Sora waved back and began trudging to shore. When he reached it, he leaned on his knees to catch his breath. Oddly, he was tired. Kairi giggled at his being out of breath in so short a time. Suddenly, something above and behind Sora caught Kairi's attention and her jaw dropped. Sora straightened and looked up. Meteors were falling. He was wondering what Kairi had found so odd about them, when he noticed that one of the falling objects was definitely not a meteor. He looked back at Kairi to see her still staring at said object, mouth covered in shock. Sora turned back and looked closer. Whatever it was it was coming toward them-

It was him.

Sora couldn't say anything, just staring. What does one think when you see yourself falling from the sky?

It was at this moment that Sora lost all sensation of the ground and felt himself begin to fall. Kairi looked away from the Meteor Shower and stepped back in surprise as Sora began to flail. She reached out a hand to grab him, but by then it was too late. Sora was falling through the ground and into the sky. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed was Kairi looking down after him, then disappearing in a ripple; like someone had thrown a stone into the water of the sky.

Sora felt the sensation of wind rushing past him, and the his body passing through water. He hadn't felt when he entered the water, there was no transition from the air to the liquid. After a small while, Sora felt his body righting itself and felt his feet touch down on something. His eyes snapped open and he found he was standing atop a huge, circular green stain-glass mural. There appeared to be a woman portrayed in the center of the glass. Sora looked around for something, for anything, but there was nothing but darkness on all sides.  
Suddenly, he heard something. A voice.

A voice in the Darkness.

"So much to do...so little time..."

Sora spun around, looking for the source of the voice. It was deep, yet it was light. It was hearty and yet soft. It was kind, yet hard. It was ground-shaking, yet it was as quiet as the whisper on a late summer's evening.

"Take your time, don't be afraid," the voice from nothing continued.

What was he doing here? Where was this voice coming from?

"The Door is still shut"

What? What door?

A light began to shine from above and he walked out into it's clarity.

"A power sleeps within you."

Within...him? What was happe-

Before his thought could be finished, the green stain-glass crumbled below him and he fell, and fell and fell.

He could have fallen for hours or it could've been just minutes. But the boy finally crashed into another stain-glass platform, this one with a purple-blue hue and another woman shown in the middle.

"There will be times when you have to fight." the voice spoke.

Him? Fight what?

"You must keep your light burning strong"

No sooner had the voice finished speaking than shadows began appearing on the purple glass. The Black of the shadows oddly fit well with the dark coloring of the stain glass.  
The shadows began to grow, and as Sora looked on in surprise and horror, they took 3D forms as small beings with bright, glowing yellow eyes. Their heads jerked around every few seconds, like one is prone to do when they smell something particulary delicious.

Sora closed his eyes and braced himself for an attack, but he felt something heavy materialize in his hands. He blinked open his eyes and in a split-second found that he now had a sword in his hand. He held it up firmly and slashes at a leaping shadow. It disappeared in a puff of black smoke. The rest of the beings disappeared as well, unprepared for prey with weapons.

Sora didn't have long to revel in his "victory" because the blue on the floor slowly was turning to darkness and the darkness was sucking him in. He began to struggle against it, but it seemed to be choking him. It felt like struggling to prevent drowning. He wondered if he could drown in darkness?

But as soon as he began to move around, he found himself laying on another platform. A red-pink coloring was displayed on this one and yet another woman in the center. He noticed that the sword was gone.

Across the platform, a white colored door appeared, about twice the height of Sora.

He made his way warily over to it, and upon opening it, found himself bathed in blinding-white light.

The Voice returned.

"The day you will open the door is both far off and very near."

Sora found himself walking onto a red and yellow platform, with thorns etched into the stain glass. Another woman was portrayed in the middle of it. Mere moments after entering, more Shadows appeared.

Sora's eyes widened, wondering why they were back. He took a ready stance that he had learned from-

Oddly enough, he did not remember who.

Who was he again?

The sword reappeared without any call.

The shadows charged at him and he charged to meet them. A few hacks and slashes later, all the shadows had dissipated into black smoke.

He turned to find a staircase of multicolored stain-glass that had not been there before. He followed it's direction with his eyes and found that it led to another platform higher up. A yellow one this time. Curious, he began to climb.

Upon reaching the yellow platform, the voice returned.

"The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes."

Sora looked behind him and found, just as he was expecting, his shadow had grown longer.

Perfectly normal when one is standing close to light.

But then his shadow began to grow, and stand up; taking form. This surprised and scared Sora, who knew that this definitely was not normal behavior for one's shadow.

The voice, seeming to sense his worry, continued.

"But don't be afraid."

Sora continued to step back, and the shadow continued to grow taller and change.

"And don't forget..."

Sora finally broke and turned to run, but found that the platform wasn't nearly as big as he'd thought, just catching himself before tumbling over into nothingness. The shadow was now at least ten times his size. It had glowing yellow eyes, and long black tentacles where hair should've been. But, by far, the most prominent feature on this behemoth was a huge heart-shaped hole right through its torso.

Sora expected the voice to continue, to give him some sage advice or to tell him how to proceed, or to at least tell him what not to forget, but the voice remained silent. The monstrosity lifted it's fist and brought it down toward the boy.

Sora, now knowing he was on his own, turned and ran to his left to escape. Just when he thought he had escaped the falling fist, a shockwave shook the ground beneath him and threw him off his feet. When he had stood back up, he saw that the same sword from earlier had found it's way to his hand.

Given a bit of new courage by the sword, the boy charged through the puddle of darkness about the hand and began to slash at it.

The monster, seemingly tired of his hand being attacked, leaned back away from Sora. Wary, Sora stood back and watched. A swirling black and purple light began to shine from the heart-shaped hole in the monster's abdomen, and while Sora tried to figure out what this meant, large comets of black and purple energy flew forth from the swirling light and beelined straight for him.

Sora began to dodge the lights, back and forth, knowing that it would not be a good time for him if they made contact. In his peripheral vision, he noticed that the monster's hand was close enough to the ground to try and assault. Maybe he could-

Unable to speak, Sora's mind screamed as one of the projectiles took advantage of his distraction and slammed into his back. He felt sheer cold spread down his spine, and from there to the rest of his body.

Maybe he should just focus on dodging the flying darkness beams...

The monster, deeming it was a fine time to try smashing Sora again, brought it's fist high into the air and down toward him. Or at least where Sora used to be standing.

Sora had dodged out of the way just in time and, using the time allotted by the monster when it brought it's fist up, prepared himself for what was coming.

The moment the shadow beast's fist struck the ground, Sora made a jump toward the hand and brought the sword down heavily upon the pillar-like giant howled in pain as it's hand separated from it's body in a puff of smoke. It swung the stubbed arm into Sora, sending him tumbling away. The sword disappeared from the boy's hand.

Well this wasn't good.

At this time, Sora thought that he couldn't have any more problems than he already did. Lost somehere in this darknes, not remembering much about himself, and being attacked by this monster. Not a good day. But just as he finished thinking this, the floor turned to darkness and began pulling him in. He guessed he was wrong.

"-But don't be afraid."

The Voice.

The monster reared up for a final strike, darkness oozing from it like blood.

"You hold the mightiest weapon of all"

Sora continued to be sucked down. Both his legs and one of his arms had disappeared.

"So don't forget:"

The monster's swing came down just as Sora's vision was covered by darkness. He saw nothing more. No monster, no swords, no platforms and no shadows.

Just restful darkness.

"You are the one who will open the door."

**_Welcome to the Beginning.  
Welcome to Kingdom Hearts._**

* * *

_So what did you think? Please let me know!_

_(In addition, if this chapter seemed disjointed and oddly written, fear not. 'Twas meant to be like that)  
~Mars_


	2. Destiny Islands: Day One

_(Touched up as of 4/27/09)_

_Now we enter in Kingdom Hearts proper!_

_Disclaimer: No, I own not Kingdom Hearts. That makes me sad._

* * *

_**Chapter II: Destiny Islands Part One  
**~It's a dangerous business, going out your door.~  
You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you'll be swept off to.  
~Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire._

The gloriously shining sun beamed down upon the little Island, affectionately nicknamed "Kinshou". The sky was clear and the ocean was as warm and bright blue as ever, separating Kinshou from the Main Island which contained the town of Morningheath.

Sora slowly blinked open his cerulean eyes and sat up, beginning to visually comb the area about him. Content that he was still safe on the beach, with no one in his field of vision, he gave a mighty yawn and laid back down to return into dreamland.

As his head lay back down on the sand, cupped by his hands, he noticed that the sky above him was no longer blue with wispy clouds rolling along, but that his view was blocked by a head of short auburn hair and two dark blue eyes. Two beautiful dark blue eyes. Surprised, Sora jumped to his feet.

Kairi, content with having surprised Sora, giggled and smiled at him. Sora groaned and leaned back on the sand. Sora felt, oddly, happy and warm at her giggle. He ignored the feeling for now.

"Gimme a break, Kairi!"

Kairi plopped her petite frame down next to him. "Sora, you lazy bum!" she said, using her favorite nickname for him. "I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here!"

"No! This huge, black THING swallowed me up!" Sora suddenly said, bits and pieces of his dream floating back to him. Sora saw Kairi roll her eyes at him, but he had to come up with a reason why he wasn't helping the raft. He pressed on. "I couldn't breathe...I couldn't—OW!" Sora yelped as Kairi's hand connected playfully with his skull.

"Are you still dreaming?" Kairi asked, obviously seeing through what she though was an excuse.

"It wasn't a dream!" Sora said emphatically. Then less so. "Or was it? I-I dunno..."

Sora continued to mumble to himself. What had that dream been about? That..was it a voice? And those shadows? What did it all mean?

"What was that place? So bizzare..." Sora looked out at the ocean. He had begun to fancy that it would be a good idea to think on this some more. Perhaps even sleep on it. That would be great-

Kairi looked at her friend wryly and shook her head knowingly. "Yeah, sure Sora. If you say so." she looked out at the ocean with him. A screeching seagull flew overhead.

Sora knew that he couldn't go to sleep now, not with Kairi right there. So he scrambled to continue the conversation. "Say Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up?" Sora already knew the answer, but he had said the first, well, actually, the second thing that had come to his head.

"I told you before, I don't remember." she replied.

"Nothing...at all?" Sora prodded.

"Nothing."

Sora, being her one of her best friends, could only just detect the smallest tinge of regret evident in her reply of 'Nothing'.

"You ever want to go back?"

"Hmmm..." Kairi contemplated. "Well, I'm happy here"

"Really..." was Sora's only reply.

"But you know," Kairi volunteered with just the slightest bit of wistfulness, "I wouldn't mind going to see it."

"I'd like to see it too!" Sora agreed with Kairi, "Along with any other worlds out there! I wan to see 'em all!"

Kairi looked at him, "So what're we waiting for?"

Sora groaned as she realized she was referencing the raft again. They'd been working on it _all _summer! Couldn't he just get a _little _rest?

"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?" A new voice intoned, feigning hurt.

Sora knew before turning that this new voice belonged to his best friend Riku.

And sure enough, he turned to find Riku, silver hair and icy-turquoise eyes, log slung over his arm, walking towards them.

"So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft." he continued as he sat down next to Kairi, throwing the log he had been carrying in Sora's general direction.

"Oof!" was the only sound Sora made as the log crashed into him and knocked him back onto the sand. He groaned and Kairi giggled.

"And you're just as lazy as he is!" Riku sighed.

"Heh, so you noticed..." Kairi allowed, slightly embarrassed. "Okay! We'll finish it together!" she continued excitedly. "I'll race you!"

"Huh?" Sora asked tiredly, knowing that if Kairi pushed on with wanting to race, he would have no choice but to get up and do so.

Riku, getting the message as well, agreed, "What, are you kidding?"

Kairi, knowing the competitive nature of her two best friends, ignored them."Ready? Go!"

Sora and Riku stared at each other for a few moments, mutually agreeing to just sit and be lazy. That lasted a whole five seconds.

Sora and Riku both jumped to their feet and took off toward the other side of the Kinshou, dead set on reaching it before the other. Kairi began to follow along behind, chuckling about the competitive nature of her two dear friends.

* * *

Kairi, being slower than both Riku and Sora, fell to a walkas they raced on ahead. Her mind drifted back to her conversation with Sora. She had no memory of her home. She'd arrived on the Islands at the age of seven, remembering nothing of her home. She had become fast friends with Sora, Riku and many others. They had made this her home, welcoming her with open arms.

And even though no one knew where she was from, this was now her home. Here, with Sora, her mind lingered briefly on his face, smiling that goofy smile of his, and Riku. With Tidus, and Selphie and Wakka. With her adopted parents and her siblings. The races, the raft, the water, the beaches, the sun_..._all of this was her home. This world.

Destiny Islands.

* * *

Sora and Riku eventually turned, jogging backwards now, and yelled questions to Kairi about what supplies they would need to gather for the raft. She WAS the academic one, after all. She'd know what they needed.

"Hey Kairi? What was it we need for the raft again?" Sora inquired for them both.

Kairi rolled her eyes at her friends' forgetfulness, and began to tick off items in her head, "Four logs, Two pieces of cloth, and two ropes. That's what we need to get first."

"Hmmm, okay." Both Sora and Riku turned back and put on an extra burst of speed to beat each other to where the raft was beached.

Kairi sped up in surprise and yelled after them, "Well? Aren't either of you going to get that stuff?"

"I haven't beaten him yet!" came Riku's reply.

"Hey! You're not going to beat me!" Sora retorted.

Kairi sighed. She knew what was coming. And, just as she'd predicted, a soft thunk was heard. As she rounded the bend, she found Sora and Riku both rolling around in the sand, trying to force the other to submit.

Kairi knew well enough that there was only one way to end this. She simply walked past them, leaned up against the door and cleared her throat.

Both boys looked up in surprise to see that Kairi had beaten them both to the other side. They slowly looked back at each other and shrugged, standing up and dusting off.

"Now," Kairi said, "Will you two go and find those supplies we need?"

"Half and half?" Sora asked Riku.

Riku nodded, "Race?"

"Of course"

And before Kairi could say anything more, they were gone again. Well, except for Sora, who Riku had playfully shoved into the water. He stood back up, water dripping off him, gave Kairi a small smile and took off like a shot to find all the items before Riku.

Kairi sighed and shook her head at her two friends antics, then sat down to await their return.

She might as well begin working on that Thessalia Shell charm...

* * *

Sora knew Kinshou like the back of his hand, so he didn't dawdle at all while searching for the

needed supplies for the Raft.

Riku had told him and Kairi that this raft could take them to other worlds. It had been their summer-long project. School was scheduled to start in two weeks, and Riku said that he wanted to be able to sail away before "that day," as he called it.

Sora knew that while he had a want to see many other worlds, mostly from Riku's boundless enthusiasm of such an idea, he was quite content to lay on his beach and just live. Kairi was just fine with where she was as well, which had always been a point of wonderment for Sora and Riku. Kairi knew that she came from a place other than Destiny Islands, yet she was perfectly content in her adopted home. She had said she wouldn't mind going to see her home, but Sora still knew that she was almost perfectly content on the Islands.

Kairi...

Sora's mind drifted slowly back seven years in time to that day. The day of the meteor shower. The day he first met Kairi.

* * *

_7 Years Ago..._

"_C'mon, mom, please!" Sora begged his mother. Riku stood behind him, looking calm, cool, and collected. Well, as calm, cool, and collected as an eight year old could be._

"_Mooo-oom! Please! Please! It's just for one night! Me and Riku'll be safe, I promise!"_

"_Sora, why can't you watch the meteor shower from here? You don't need to go to Kinshou to watch it." Sora's mother said worriedly,_

"_But Mom, we can see much better from Kinshou! It's just for one night! Please!" _

_Sora, full of the moment's drama, fell to the floor at his mother's feet._

_Riku rolled his eyes at Sora, but leaned down and whispered something in his friend's ear._

_Sora's eyes brightened at whatever Riku had said._

"_Mom! If we stay here, can me n'Riku sit on the roof and watch?" he asked excitedly._

_Sora's mother's glared slightly at Riku._

"_No! Sora you can't sit on the roof! You'll fall!"_

_Sora pondered this for a moment._

"_Not even if we hold on real tight?"_

_Now Sora's mother rolled her eyes slightly._

"_No, not even if you hold on real tight."_

_Sora knew that he HAD to see this meteor shower from Kinshou. He wanted it like nothing he had wanted before. Well, maybe not as much as he wanted a PlayStation3, but he still wanted it a lot._

_And Sora knew what he needed to do. He pulled his ace. Tears._

"_Mom..." he sniffled, "Please? I'll never ask for another thing as long as I live! We go to Kinshou almost everyday! We'll be super-super-safe! …...Please, Mummy?"_

_Sora's mother stiffened slightly, and feeling her walls of resistance break down, relented._

"_You can..."_

_Sora whooped in happiness, hugged his mother around the middle and dashed upstairs to begin gathering needed items._

_Riku offered a simple "Thank-you" and followed Sora upstairs._

* * *

Sora came out of his reverie long enough to pick up some rope and a log, thinking about what a pain he must've been to his parents when he was younger. Maybe even now, he thought with a smile.

Soon enough, his mind returned to later that night. He no longer remembered he was racing Riku.

* * *

_Sora and Riku were sitting on Kinshou's sandy beach, prepared to watch the meteor shower. They were toasting some marshmallows over a campfire for usage in the ever-amazing S'mores that every young child their age adores._

"_Hey Riku?" Sora asked from his position next to his best friend._

_Riku looked up from the fire, awaiting Sora's question._

"_You know what time it is?"_

"_I guess it's about midnight, the meteors should start coming any second now."_

"_Have you ever seen a meteor shower before, Riku?"_

"_Nope, how about you?"_

"_Nope"  
Suddenly, Sora's marshmallow burst into flame. Riku laughed as Sora quickly tried to blow it out._

_Riku's laughter was caught short though, as the meteor shower began._

_Dazzling white meteors gracefully carved their way across the black of the night sky, crashing far off into the ocean. Both boys watched in wonderment, S'mores now forgotten._

"_Hey Sora? You ever think that maybe those meteors come from other worlds?" Riku asked without taking his eyes from the meteors._

_Sora looked back at Riku, confused, "Other worlds? What do you mean? Isn't this the only world?"_

"_No, Sora, I'm sure of it. There must be other world-" Riku was again cut short when a shining, circular light appeared just a ways out in the sea and something fell out of it._

_Something that began to scream and splash._

_Riku and Sora glanced fearfully at each other, unsure of what to do, until they heard a voice begin to cry for help._

_Riku and Sora both started out for the voice that had been so carelessly deposited in their waters._

_Sora, even though he was younger than Riku, was still the better in the water and reached the voice first. What he saw startled him._

_It was a girl, a girl about his age with auburn hair. He had never seen her before in his life. She was still thrashing in the water, apparently unable to swim. It was at this moment that Riku reached them and the two of them helped her swim back to shore._

_By this time, she was quite soaked through and shivering. Not to mention crying for all she was worth._

_They brought her close to fire and she thanked them through her tears before collapsing onto the sand. _

_Sora and Riku were not only speechless, but REALLY scared now. Riku had the presence of mind and knowledge to check her pulse. Riku knew these things, that's what made him Riku._

"_She's just fainted, Sora, but we need to get her back to town."_

_Sora nodded slightly, still quite scared. Riku motioned, and Sora took her by her shoulders, and Riku took her by her legs. Thus they carried her to their small boat and began rowing back home, taking turns at the rows._

_When they were about half-way, Riku began to speak._

"_Sora! She must be from another world! She fell out of that glowing light and she didn't know how to swim! Sora! This means that there __must__ be other worlds out there! We need to get her back..." Riku continued on, but Sora was no longer listening, he was watching the sleeping girl._

_Sure, he had seen girls before...but none that he found...pretty...Wait! What was he thinking? Ewwww! Girls had cooties!_

_And as Riku ranted on about other worlds, Sora silently rowed back toward Morningheath._

* * *

Sora smiled at the memory, knowing that everything had turned out just fine. More than fine, actually. He and Riku had been hailed by the town as heroes, they gained a new best friend, and Riku's interest in other worlds was kindled.

He grinned wider as he took a cloth off the wall of the Seaside Shack, remembering that from that night on he had felt this odd need to protect Kairi. Perhaps it came from originally rescuing her from the drowing? It was this really bizarre feeling in the pit of his stomach whenever she was around, this warmth that made him feel on top of the world. He didn't understand what it meant at all. Recently, he had been feeling this more and more. He had no idea what was happening to him.

He sighed and, seeing that he had found his half of the supplies, began to make his way back to where Kairi was waiting.

* * *

Sora was close to where the Raft was beached when he caught sight of Riku sitting on the Paopu Tree, out on the small islet just off Kinshou. It was then that he remembered he was supposed to be in a race with Riku.

He placed his small stack of items beside him and made his way over to where Riku sat

"Heh, took you long enough to get all the stuff." Riku pointed out, smirking.

"Yeah, I know...I had some stuff I was thinking about...I got distracted" Sora mumbled.

Riku's smiled widened.

"And I know exactly what YOU were thinking about!" He chuckled.

"Oh yeah? Well why don't you tell me?" Sora challenged.

"Maybe...if you can beat me..." Riku challenged right back.

Sora puffed out his chest." At what? I could beat you at anything"

"Except, apparently, a race."

"Uh, yeah...well..." Sora rubbed the back of his of his neck, "What am I going to beat you at now?"

"What do you think? We're going to fight, of course." Riku said as he tossed Sora one of the wooden swords they played with.

"You're on!" Sora said, already planning Riku's defeat.

Riku just smiled and jumped at him. Sora brought up his sword and successfully blocked Riku's assault, he spun out of the way and made to attack Riku's side. Riku saw this coming, and expertly blocked it. Sora then moved to attack from behind, and Riku turned to block this as well, but Sora, at the last moment, turned his sword to attack from above. Not expecting this, Riku had to sacrifice his footing to block Sora's blow, or risk getting a rather nasty bump on his head.

Not that he couldn't take it, they had sustained much worse damages then that from their past duels.

Sora, seeing Riku's lax footing, took advantage of it and swept Riku to the ground. Sora pointed his sword down at Riku's chest.

"I win!"

Riku humphed rolled back, and performed an expert kick-up, his signature move, into Sora's gut.

Sora stumbled backwards onto his hands and knees, attempting to catch his breath. He held his hand up, signaling that Riku had gotten him.

"Man, that's..." he wheezed_,_ "Such a...cheap move..." Sora continued to breathe deeply, "Gah, now the score...is...42 to 41!"

"Wow, we've dueled that much just this summer?" Riku's eyebrows rose.

Sora just nodded, unable to summon enough breath to affirm it.

Riku pulled Sora to his feet and, patting him on the back, reminded him that he still had to take his supplies to the still-waiting Kairi.

* * *

"Well, Sora, it's almost dinner time and I think it goes without saying that Riku won that race..." Kairi teased as Sora and Riku approached.

"Only...because...Riku pushed me..." Sora continued to wheeze.

Kairi looked concernedly at Sora and turned to Riku,

"Okay, what'd you do?" she asked him, finger pointed at Riku's face menacingly.

"Me? Kairi, we just had a friendly duel!" he raised his hands in defense. "And...Sora lost..." he lamely finished.

Kairi looked back and forth at her two best friends and sighed.

* * *

The three friends were sitting on the Paopu Tree, their favorite place to hang out, watching the sun set before they went home to dinner. The colors of the sunset reflected in the water, giving it a redish hue. The clouds glowed orange and yellow with the sun's final rays.

Sora and Kairi were sitting up on the tree's trunk, which grew horizontally across the small islet, and Riku, by the very nature of being Riku, was leaning cooly up against the side of the trunk.

"So...Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora questioned Riku.

"Could be," Riku answered, "We'll never know by staying here."

"But how far could a raft take us?" Sora questioned, having become unsure of how well a raft could handle interstellar travel.

"Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else." Riku reassured.

"So, suppose you get to another world...what would you do there?" Kairi asked.

"Well...I...haven't really thought about it..." Riku replied, "It's just...I've always wondered why we're here, on _this_ Island. If there are any other worlds out there, why'd we end up on this one?" Riku continued with his deep thoughts, "And suppose there are other worlds...then ours is just a little piece of something much greater." Now Riku posed his main question, "So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"

Sora, feeling a bit put to shame by Riku's spiel, flipped one leg over the trunk and leaned against a curve in the tree.

"I dunno" he shrugged.

"Exactly, That why we need to go out there and find out." Riku pushed himself off the tree and walked close to the water's edge, "Just sitting here won't change a thing."

Sora and Kairi looked at each other and nodded, both knowing quite well what was coming.

"It's just the same old stuff." Riku complained, "So let's go."

"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi noted.

Riku turned around, "Thanks to you."

At that, Sora, who had been dozing off, perked back up and listened closely to what Riku was going to say.

"If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this." Riku paused, "Kairi. Thanks.".

"Heh, you're welcome." she smiled.

Unsure of why Riku's words were making him nervous, Sora shifted uncomfortably and leaned back again, looking out over the ocean.

* * *

Soon enough, Kairi announced that they had to return for dinner, and jumped down from the trunk. She walked across the bridge that led back to Kinshou where there boats waiting to be rowed back home; where dinner awaited.

Sora and Riku groaned at the prospect of having to move, but soon followed.

"Sora!" Riku slyly called out, the last to leave the islet.

Sora turned just in time to catch something yellow and star-shaped that Riku had thrown at him.

A Paopu Fruit.

Sora sighed, knowing what was coming.

Since Kairi was already down at the beach, Riku spoke freely.

"You wanted one, didn't you?" Riku said with a knowing smile.

Sora feigned ignorance."A...paopu fruit...?"

Riku began to walk past him, face solemn. "If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what." his serious facade broke and he chuckled, "C'mon, I know you want to try it."

"What are you talking about-" Sora began nervously.

Riku laughed fully and ran off, Sora looked once at the paopu, wondering if Riku had a point-

_-_before tossing it over the side of the bridge, and proceeding to run after his best friend.

* * *

Disney Castle was a majestic structure, with towering, bright blue pinnacles that reached high into the clear, morning sky. The walls of the towers and castle were pure white, not a discoloration to be seen.

Inside the Castle, a Duck mage was walking through it's grand halls, making his way to the Throne Room as was his morning custom.

You see, Donald Duck was going to visit his best friend, who just so happened to be the King of this castle. With a nod, he acknowledged the the passing brooms carrying buckets of water. He guessed they were going to clean the Kitchen again.

He soon reached the massive doors to the throne room. The handles of the doors stood at least seven times as high as the mage, but Donald simply cleared his throat and knocked on the door. In front of where he was standing, a door-sized opening appeared and he walked through and began to make his way across the mammoth Throne Room.

"Good Morning, Your Majesty, it's nice to see you this morn-" his greeting cut itself short when he found the King's throne empty. The King was never NOT here this early! It had been their morning ritual for years to meet and go over the State of the Realm.

That was when the King's loyal dog, Pluto, popped it's head out from behind the golden throne. It looked like it had a note in it's mouth.

Donald waddled over and reached down, taking the note from the dog. He wiped the slobber off of it and began to read.

Soon enough, almost the whole castle was awakened as the duck ran screaming out of the throne room, careening wildly across the halls.

Something had happened. Something unheard of, and Donald had always been known for his extreme reactions.

* * *

_Here's to hoping the next chapter will be out within in the week, no promises though!__As always: review! Especially constructive-crit! That would be appreciated beyond words!_

_~Mars_


	3. Destiny Islands: Day Two

_(Touched up as of 5/27/09)_

_Disclaimer: No, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. But you already knew that. Right? **Right?**_

* * *

_**Chapter III: Destiny Islands Part Two  
**__~Loss: T__he state of being deprived of or of being without something or someone that one has once had.~  
__~The Dictionary_

Goofy Goof, Captain of the King's Knights, was laying in the pristinely pruned garden, enjoying a restful morning nap. The day was bright and beautiful, as it was most days at the Castle, and the garden seemed even more bright and beautiful than the rest. Throughout the garden, hedges were cut in the shape of different denizens of the castle. Birds chirped quietly atop them, forming a calming atmosphere. The garden was cool in the morning, with the sun just peeking over the castle wall. For all intents and purposes, if you were the type to desire a peaceful, soothing place, the garden of Disney Castle was the one place in the universe where you would want to be.

But, unfortunately, you would not want to be there for very long.

"Wake Up, Goofy, wake up! This is serious!" Donald screamed as he almost plowed into the sleeping dog-creature.

Goofy let out a noisy snore and continued to sleep.

Donald, who was never really a patient duck, called down a bolt of magic lightning to zap Goofy awake. Just a little one, mind you. Not enough to kill the dog-Captain, but enough to waken him, which is not an easy feat.

Goofy sat up, rubbing his eyes. He tried to remember something he heard once about the chances of being struck by lightning, but he gave up when he saw Donald standing next to him, looking more impatient then normal.

"Hey there, Donald. G'morning!" Goofy greeted happily.

"We've got a problem, Goofy!" Donald interrupted, shifting his eyes slyly, "But don't tell anyone...".

Goofy blinked a few times and titled his head.

"Queen Minnie?" He questioned.

Donald shook his head emphatically, "Not even the Queen!"

"Daisy?" Goofy continued.

Donald blanched, and said even more emphatically, "Noooo! It's top secret!"

It was then that Goofy noticed two guests standing just beyond them. One was a small mouse wearing a pink dress and the other was a duck, quite like Donald, and wearing purple.

"G'morning Ladies!" he cheerily greeted.

Even though Donald's normal pallor, being a duck, was white, he paled to an even whiter-white as he turned about to see none other than Queen Minnie, looking on curiously, and Daisy, who looked quite unhappy. At him most likely.

"Eheheheh..."

* * *

The next morning, warm and sunny as it always seemed to be in Destiny Islands, Sora arrived on Kinshou and made his way to the cove on the northern side of the island. It was there they had housed their raft in it's construction stages.

No sooner had he the raft in sight, just down a few stairs and over a small rise, he saw Riku sitting on the top step.

"Finally! I've been waiting for you." Riku remarked as he stood. "You know our raft still needs a name. I was thinking _Highwind, _but since I'm such a great guy, what do you think?"

"Ahhh...I was..." Sora pondered, "I was thinking..._Excalibur_?"

Riku looked quizzically at Sora, "Hey, how about we-"

Sora, anticipating what was coming, quickly replied, "The usual?"

"Let's do it!" Riku nodded.

Kairi chose that moment to appear over the rise, most likely having just finished giving the Raft her daily check. Seeing Sora and Riku, she knew exactly what they were up to.

"You guys at it _again_?" she asked. "All right, I'll be the judge. Usual rules apply."

Sora and Riku took their places.

"If I win...uhhhh...I'm captain! And if you win..." Sora began to bet.

"I get to share the paopu with Kairi," Riku whispered, completely serious.

"Huh?" Sora faltered, quickly checking to see if Kairi had heard. She hadn't. She just looked at them oddly, wondering what they were whispering about.

"Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi."

Sora's mind began to slow, "Uhh...wait a minute..."

Sora blushed slightly at the thought of sharing a Paopu with Kairi. How could he possibly be thinking this? She was one of his best friends for goodness' sake! He gulped. What if Riku won? Was he serious that he would share a Paopu with Kairi? The thought made him uneasy. But why? So what if Riku had a paopu...with Kairi...

No, definitely didn't want that to happen.

Fortunately for Sora, he was saved from making it a deal-or-no-deal by Kairi's voice calling out a countdown.

Unfortunately for Sora, he didn't hear Kairi's pronouncement, being so preoccupied with his thoughts. Only when he felt sand blow against his face from Riku speeding off and Kairi's giggling at his seeming inability to run, did Sora realize he was supposed to be racing Riku. Again.

Needless to say, Sora lost that race. Badly.

Thus the raft was named _Highwind, _justas Riku had suggested.

Sora didn't find out until later that Riku had not been at all serious.

* * *

"OW!" Sora yelled, rubbing his head with his hand. A jagged rock jutted out from the earthen ceiling above him as he climbed through the small tunnel that led to the Secret Place. He wondered why Kairi said they had needed mushrooms, of all things. He wondered why he had to climb into the Secret Place to find some. He wondered how he could still fit.

The Secret Place was the hideaway of younger years, years when it took less trouble to fit down the tunnel. He could still get through with little problem, but after they get back from the Raft Trip, they would have to expand the tunnel.

But...what if they didn't come back?

The thought of not returning had never crossed Sora's mind before then. He had always just thought this would be the last adventure of their summer, no matter how much Riku thought they would find. What if he never saw his home again after tomorrow? What would his mother think? Or Riku and Kairi's families? Sora doubted Riku's father knew about what they were doing, but his mother and Kairi's parents thought it was just a fun little thing their kids were attempting. Never to be realized, of course.

What if something happened to them while they were sailing?

Sora eventually found himself in the circular room at the end of the tunnel, high enough to stand up in. Against the far wall, right beside the odd oaken door that had always been there, grew a couple mushrooms. As he walked over to them, he admired the wall art.

He smiled nostalgically. This was where he, Riku, and Kairi would doodle on the walls while talking of what the odd door, without a handle or a knob, could lead to. One drawing in particular caught his eyes.

Two drawings to be exact.

One displayed the head of a small boy with spiky hair, obviously the work of someone who was fairly good at drawing with chalk on cave walls. The other, a slightly-worse drawn picture of a small girl with short hair.

Sora's mind drifted back to the day of these drawings.

* * *

_It was the first day Sora had shown Kairi his and Riku's Secret Place, the one they had discovered while hunting monsters a few days after Kairi's arrival, which had been five or six months earlier._

_Kairi had awwwed over some of the pictures, asked questions about others, and giggled at the far majority of them. Eventually, she had asked Sora if there was a place she could draw. She said that she enjoyed drawing and it was something that seemed really familiar to her. Sora showed her to an empty, clean space between a large root of a tree and the mysterious door. Both of them had sat down and began to draw on the walls with some chalk that he and Riku kept in the room._

_They both had finished at about the same time, and as they stood back, they found that they had drawn pictures of each other._

"_Wow...you sure are good, Kairi." he had said._

_Kairi, on the other hand, directed thoughts away from the drawings by asking about the door, something she had been wondering about since Sora showed her this place._

"_The door?" Sora had replied, "Me and Riku dun't know, Kairi. It's never opened, there are no knobs or nothing. We just ignore it now."_

_Kairi nodded, but she still had glanced suspiciously at the door from time to time._

* * *

Sora, still lost in the thought of this memory, and many others like it, sat down in front of the two drawings. Subconsciously pickingup a piece of chalk, he began to add to the years-old picture.

About fifteen minutes later, Sora's mind arrived back at the present and he found that he had drawn an arm on the side with his portrait, the one Kairi had drawn.

The arm was holding out a Paopu fruit to Kairi.

Sora looked at the drawing, wondering how he had done that without noticing, and hastily tried to erase it with his jacket.

Sora didn't have much time to resign himself to the inevitable, as a fluttering of something passing ticked him at the base of his neck and he jumped to his feet.

"Wh-Who's there?" he asked, wondering who would've followed him in. Hopefully not Kairi. He wouldn't survive the embarrassment.

A deep voice that seemed to echo throughout the room reached Sora's ears.

"I've come to see the door to this world." the voice intoned.

"Huh?" Sora questioned. His mind briefly touched upon the door to his right, but it quickly moved on.

"This world has been connected."

"Wh—What're you talking about?" Sora asked the room.

"Tied to the darkness..." the voice continued, unhurried. "soon to be completely eclipsed."

"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this." Sora, for the first time, noticed a brown-hooded and cloaked figure standing in the corner across from him.

"Huh? Wh—Where did you come from?" he asked, becoming only slightly fearful.

The figure's deep voice continued."You do not yet know what lies beyond the door."

"Are...are you from another world?" Sora asked, having never seen this man before.

The figure ignored Sora, "There is so very much to learn. You understand so little"

Taken-aback at the stranger's insult, Sora shot-back, "Oh yeah? We'll you'll see! I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!"

"A meaningless effort." the voice replied unemotionally, "One who knows nothing can understand nothing."

Sora, for the first time, felt somethingfrom behind the Door. Something moving. Something thumping. Something pulsating.

He turned to see what it was, expecting some large monster, perhaps the one from his dream, to jump out at him. Nothing was there.

Sora turned back to the man, but he was gone as well.

Taking the mushrooms with him, an unnerved Sora left the Secret Place and made his way back to Kairi who was waiting at the Raft.

* * *

Riku had to head home early, so Sora and Kairi sat on Kinshou's dock and watched the sunset by themselves.

As he sat and watched the last gleams of light disappear into the ocean, Sora's mind continued to think about the Paopu he had drawn on the Secret Place's wall. Why did he find the girl sitting beside him more beautiful than the sunset they were watching? More than the rays reflecting off the water?

Why was he thinking this right now? Why him? Why now?

Part of his mind wanted to accept the fact that he just might love Kairi. That part desperately wanted to reach over, take her small, delicate hand in his own and hold it close. Maybe a small kiss. The other part didn't know what it wanted, aside from wanting the other side to shut up.

What was love anyway?

"You know, Riku's changed." Kairi suddenly spoke, interrupting the calm silence.

"What'd you mean?" Sora asked, a bit confused by Kairi's statement.

Kairi didn't say anything and just looked out at the ocean silently again.

"You okay?" Sora asked concernedly.

"Sora! Let's take the raft and go—just the two of us!" Kairi blurted out.

If Sora's mind hadn't ceased working at that moment, he would have noticed Kairi's eye widen, as if she couldn't believe what she had just said.

"Wh-What?" Sora stammered.

Kairi giggled slightly, "Just kidding."

Sora's mind began to reboot then, "What's gotten into you? You're the one that's changed, Kairi." he chuckled.

Kairi's voice became thoughtful, "Maybe..."

Sora was about to tell Kairi he had just been kidding with her, but she continued.

"You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here," she turned to Sora, "Right?"

"Yeah, of course!" Sora affirmed.

"That's good." Kairi sighed, contented. "Sora?"

"Yeah, Kairi?"

"Don't ever change."

Kairi stood and looked down at Sora, smiling. She looked back out at the sea.

"I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great."

Sora knew this to be true, but he still couldn't shake his odd conversation with the hooded man in the Secret Place out of his mind.

* * *

_Donald,_

_Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'._

_Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I've gotta go check into it._

_There's someone with a "key"-the key to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find him, and stick with him. Got it?_

_We need that key or we're doomed!_

_So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction._

_P.S. Would ya apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal._

_~Mickey_

Queen Minnie Mouse placed the letter she had been silently reading for the fourth time down on the desk and looked at the others gathered in the Castle Library: Her Lady-in-Waiting, Daisy, Daisy's sweetheart, Donald, and the Captain of the Royal Guard, Goofy.

"Oh dear! What could this mean?" Daisy asked, confused.

Minnie looked down at the ground, "It means...we'll just have to trust the King." The Queen wondered silently why her husband would just leave, and without telling her. He only left a note, and that was only for his best friend, not his wife!

Goofy put his hand to he chin thoughtfully, "Gawrsh, I sure hope he's all right."

"Your highness," Donald addressed the Queen, "Don't worry, we'll find the King and this 'key'."

Minnie smiled, "Thank you, both of you."

"Daisy, can you take care of-" Donald began.

"Of course." Daisy finished, "You be careful now, both of you."

"Oh, and to chronicle your travels, he will accompany you." Minnie pointed towards the desk.

"Over here!" a small voice called out.

Upon close inspection, Donald and Goofy found that Minnie had been pointing to a small cricket standing on the desk. A cricket who was now jumping up and down on the table trying to garner attention to himself.

Seeing that he had accomplished his goal, the smartly-dressed, in a top hat and frock, cricket introduced himself.

"Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket, at your service."

Minnie looked back at Donald and Goofy, "We hope for your safe return," and a bit more quieter, "Please help the King."

Donald saluted down the line, Queen Minnie, then Daisy, then Goofy...

Goofy?

"You're coming too!" Donald quacked as his dragged Goofy toward the Gummi Hangar.

* * *

"Gawrsh, Jiminy, your world disappeared too?" Goofy asked.

"It was terrible! We were scattered. And as far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to this castle." The Cricket replied sadly from his placement on Goofy's helmet.

"Goofy." Donald reprimanded, knowing well what was coming.

"Oh, right...I gotcha. While we're in other worlds, we can't let on where we're from, huh? We've gotta protect the world border."

"Order." Donald tiredly corrected.

Goofy chuckled."Right. World Order!"

Donald sighed.

"I guess we'll need new duds when we get there, huh?" Goofy asked.

Donald sighed again and opened the door to the Gummi Ship Hangar.

Inside was a cacophony of noise. Gears turned, lights flashed and above it all hung a red box, in which two chipmunks, Chip and Dale, sat controlling the hangar. In the middle of the room sat a large red ship, simply made with a rocket-shaped body and two wings. This was the Gummi Ship.

"Hello up there? Donald Duck to launch crew!" Donald spoke into the radio beside the door, "Anytime you're ready!"

Chip and Dale both saluted and began to push buttons and pull levers. The ramp descended from the belly of the ship, allowing access for Donald and Goofy.

The mouse-head-shaped Launch Tunnel slowly opened in front of the Gummi, and Donald proceeded to place himself in front of the controls. He gave a thumbs-up and a wink to Daisy, who had just entered with the Queen. Donald wondered where Pluto, the King's dog, had gone, but he didn't dwell on that much, since, in a few moments, the ship was flying out into open space.

* * *

"_-Tied to the Darkness."_

Sora lay in his bed, looking out his window into the night. The sky was darkening, filled with swirling black clouds. Kinshou was covered in darkness, unable to be seen clearly. The water was calm, lapping against the shoreline. The air was warm and humid at midnight, and Sora knew that he should be asleep. Tomorrow was the day they were to leave. He needed his rest.

He just couldn't stop thinking about that...figure in the Secret Place.

Had he really been there? What did he mean by "tied to the darkness"? Or "the door to this world"?

Who was the man? What was he? Where did he come from?

Sora turned his head and looked at the toy ship hanging from his ceiling. Two cloth figures were inside, one male and one female. One with spiky hair, the other with straight, short hair. His mind wandered briefly to he and Kairi on the Raft. Alone.

"_I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great." _Kairi's voice echoed in his mind.

For a split moment, Sora's room was bathed in a glow from a strike of lightning.

"A storm?"

Sora peered out his window and saw Kinshou illuminated by another flash of lightning. The waves had gotten worse and were now beating against the shore. Rain had started to fall a few moments ago and was now deluging upon the Islands.

Sora sat straight up in bed. "Oh no! The Raft!"

* * *

Upon reaching the ocean around Kinshou, Sora found himself staring up into a swirling blue-and-red hole in the sky. He sat frozen in his boat for a moment, just watching the rip in the sky convulse. He eventually felt his boat hit the sand and come up onto the beach. He stepped off onto the muddy sand, soaked through from the rain and waves. Down the beach he noticed two other boats. Riku's and Kairi's were pulled up on the beach. He worried slightly for Kairi, but, quite suddenly, the shadows from his dream returned.

They were small, spindly beings with black claws and a pair of black antenna sticking from their round heads. Two large, glowing yellows eyes shined from the otherwise black skin. Every few moments they would twitch, looking as though they were being jerked about on puppet strings. Sora's eyes widened as his dream from the day before flashed before his eyes.

"_You are the one who will open the door"_

Since Sora didn't have a weapon, he tried dodging the creatures with a small amount of success. A few scratches later, he was standing atop the bridge staring out onto the Paopu Islet, wondering why the dark creatures hadn't followed him. It was then that he noticed that someone was standing in the middle of the Islet, looking up into the dark hole in the sky.

It was Riku.

Sora didn't think about what Riku was doing out there or why, he just ran towards his friend.

"Riku! Riku! I found you!" he stepped onto the Islet itself, looking around confusedly."Where's Kairi? Isn't she with you?"

Riku ignored him, speaking simply. "The door has opened."

"_I've come to see the door to this world."_

Sora paled, remembering the mystery man's words. "Wh-what?" he stuttered.

"The door has opened, Sora!" Riku repeated, glancing at Sora. Annoyance laced the edges of his words like poison. "Now we can go to the outside world!"

"What're you talking about? We've gotta find Kairi!"

"Kairi's coming with us." Riku said straightforwardly and looked back.

Sora didn't like the way Riku had said that at all, and would've told Riku as much had the older boy not continued talking.

"Once we step through," he said. "We might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back" he continued on with a sudden renewed vigor, "But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

Riku turned fully around and held out a steady hand for Sora to join him.

Sora's mind flashed. The waves, the fall, the monster, the shadows, Riku reaching...his dream.

"Riku...?" Sora began, unsure.

At that moment, a pool of darkness snapped open beneath Riku's feet and began to snake tendrils of darkness up the boy's body. Yet Riku's hand still held out, an open invitation for Sora to join him. Riku seemed not to notice the darkness slowly covering him.

Pools of darkness...his dream...

Sora began to reach for Riku, but a pool of darkness appeared beneath him as well. It froze him in place, legs unmovable. He could only strain his arm, closer and closer to Riku's hand.

Three Inches.

Riku continued to stand, staring emptily at Sora, still as a statue. A statue being eaten by a tentacled monster of darkness.

Two Inches.

Sora pushed his fingers to their full extension. He felt the muscles in his fingers stretching themselves, sending pain up his hand.

One Inch.

Darkness enveloped Sora.

Too late.

* * *

All Sora saw was darkness.

"_Was that it?"_

Was that all that was? Darkness? Darkness, everywhere. Pulling, pushing, grasping, choking.

"_Or maybe this was all there ever was..."_

It was within this darkness that a small speck of light suddenly gleamed. A faraway star calling Sora to it. It shone with a sudden brightness and Sora was standing back on the Paopu Islet, rain pelting his face and thunder pounding in his ears. Everything was the same.

Sora then noticed that two things were, in fact, different.

One, Riku was gone.

Two, Sora hand grasped a golden hilt connected to a long, silver sword. It was sharp, and three prongs of metal stuck out from the side of the blade, near the tip.

The shadows, the sword...his dream...

Suddenly, a million voices inside Sora's head began to speak, all chanting the same words.

_Keyblade..._

_Keyblade..._

_Keyblade..._

_Keyblade..._

Sora stumbled forward a bit, clutching his head, not noticing that the sword had disappeared. The voices continued to chant, but their noise soon disappeared. With that, the shadows reappeared. Sora slowly moved backwards, well aware that the Islet was not that big. He had no idea what to do next. That was when he felt the sword back in his hand.

Now, properly equipped, Sora put his seven plus years of dueling against Riku to the test.

* * *

After returning a dozen of the shadow-beings to smoke, Sora realized that the Paopu Islet was being literally flooded with the little creatures. He knew he had to escape. He hastily beat a path through the shadows with his sword and ran across the bridge back to Kinshou's mainland. Now, with Riku disappeared, he had to find Kairi. Wherever she was. He couldn't let another one of his friends disappear, especially not Kairi.

From his vantage point on the bridge, Sora noticed that something was amiss on Kinshou.

Well, aside from shadow creatures, unusual storms, disappearing friends, strange key-swords, and black holes.

A door had appeared in front of the entrance to the secret place.

A...door...his dream...the man...

"_I've come to see the door to this world."_

Sora quickly ran through the shadows and dragged open the door and entered the tunnel. No shadows were assaulting him here. He continued to speed down the passageway, only bumping his head once or twice. He pulled up short when he found Kairi standing before the oaken door.

"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed, relieved. He had found her. She was safe. He felt a small smile manifest itself on his face. He felt like everything would be okay for now.

Kairi hadn't reacted to his call yet, she seemed to be staring at the door. The large, oaken door that rimmed itself in gold.

"_I've come to see the door to this world."_

"_-Tied to the darkness"_

As Kairi slowly turned around to face him, Sora knew that something was dreadfully wrong. Kairi looked to be almost dead. Her eyes were dim, her skin was pale and clammy. Her movements, slow and weak.

Her pained moan of, "Sora..." didn't do much to reassure him either.

As Sora looked into her dim eyes, he forgot all about the world going to hell outside, about Riku's disappearance, about the key-sword, about the shadows, about the man.

Kairi needed help. Something was wrong with Kairi.

Slowly, her hand began to raise from her side, fingers hanging limply as her hand reached out for him. Sora barely noticed his feet moving forward.

But that was when the door, the door that had always been wondered about, the door that had never opened, did just that.

The Door Opened.

And as the door opened, darkness poured out. Monstrous waves of dark energy moved out like a nuclear blast from it's epicenter. Sora thought he caught a glimpse of the shadow creatures inside the door, but he wasn't sure. Furious winds blew from within and pushed the weak Kairi toward Sora. He, seeing this, moved forward against the winds to catch her before she fell.

Just as he felt the most ghostly of touches from her, she simply clenched his eyes against the winds. She was gone. How had all this happened?

She had been close enough to feel her breath, touch her body against his, to smell her strawberry scent.

But, just like that, she was gone, and the raging, screaming wind blew Sora off his feet and out of the Secret Place.

* * *

Sora tasted sand in his mouth. He also felt his in his eyes and up his nose. He had landed face first outside, allowed plenty of sand to find it's way into his face's cavities.

As he spit the sand from his mouth, he found that he was on Kinshou, or what was left of it, surrounded by Black-purple nothingness. The wind still swirled and pulled upwards slightly. Above him pulsated the dark hole. The hole had grown at least ten times it's original size and now filled most of the sky.

Nothing of the Paopu Islet remained but a small spit of land floating in nothingness. Sora couldn't see Morningheath, and Kinshou was reduced to nothing more than sand, wooden rubble, and a few stubborn, half-uprooted, tree stumps.

The black hole was sucking the life from Destiny Islands.

His Islands. His friends. His home.

Sora thought, for a brief moment, that he might've seen pieces of the raft spin by, chewed upon by the winds, being carried up to the always thirsting black mouth of the hole.

Without warning, the ground quaked.

Afraid, Sora turned to find none other than the Monster from his dream. The monster with a heart-shaped hole in it's torso and black tentacles for hair.

The monster...my dream...

The sword appeared in his hand again as the monster's hand came down. Odd. He hadn't noticed when it disappeared before.

Sora again dodged the blow, but the monster seemed to see this coming and moved his hand to crush the boy where he had moved to.

Sora brought the sword up, and slashed away at the massive hand coming toward him, beating it off long enough for him to move out from its path. Sora, now knowing that the monster had become wise to what had happened in his dream, ignored the fact that the monster really hadn't, in fact, been in his dream and moved toward the monster's small feet.

Sora thought, perhaps, that a few well-aimed hits would take it down at it's weakest points. He remembered this time to be ready to dodge the projectiles the monster had just began to shoot at him.

After a few dodges and cuts, the monster's feet separated from the body and, with a ground-shaking roar, it began to collapse.

It then occurred to Sora that there wasn't too many places to run on what was left of Kinshou.

He caught sight of some planks, left still hanging onto the tree stump them were nailed to. He hid by them, hoping to shield himself from some of the blow should the monster fall towards him.

When no crash came, Sora peeked out to see the monster slowly floating into the black hole. Floating up and up and up into nothingness, arms outstretched as if offering itself to some god.

The winds picked up even higher then and Sora felt his body come off the ground. His feet slowly switched places with his fingers until he was grasping at the wood planks, feeling his body being stretched toward the hole. After a sort struggle, the winds easily overpowered him. His last thoughts were erratic, ranging from his mother, to his friends, to his house, and finally finding themselves a resting place in Riku and Kairi.

Sora then felt a sense of weightlessness as the dark hole welcomed him in.

"_One who knows nothing can understand nothing."_

* * *

_Not much to say here. Have a good day._

_~Mars_


	4. A Town of Travelers

(_Touched up as of 6/11/09)_

_Disclaimer: No. That is all._

* * *

_**Chapter IV: A Town of Travelers  
**__~The road goes ever on and on...~  
__...Pursuing it with eager feet,  
__Until it joins some larger way  
__Where many paths and errands meet.  
__And whither then? I cannot say.  
__~J.R.R. Tolkien_

Goofy gazed around the Central Square of Traverse Town's First District. It was early evening, and slightly chilly. Traverse Town was a city crammed systematically together. Only a trained eye could notice where one building stopped the next began. This world was a haven for those who had had their homeworlds destroyed. It was, as some would say, an In-Between World. No one was entirely sure how some people ended up in the Town and others did not, but most realized their good fortune in being still alive. Goofy sadly wondered if any of the people of this town would ever be able to find home again. His home was safe,and for that Goofy felt a bit of guilt, but he knew that due to the nature of Disney Castle, it couldn't be destroyed. But all the other worlds...What would happen if Traverse Town was destroyed? Would all the castaways be lost to the darkness?

Suddenly, there was a bright flash that seemed to grow from the sky. It blocked vision for a few moments, before seeming to be sucked back to where it came. Only this time, a star was missing from the corner of the sky where the light had originated.

"There goes another star, winking out..." Goofy said sadly.

Donald stared at the sky and shuddered. "Come on. Let's hurry."

Goofy wondered who had lived on that world, and if any of them had appeared in Traverse Town in that instant.

"Where could that Key be..." Donald mumbled impatiently to no one in particular. He wanted to find the key. Find the Key, Find the king. Get home. Not that anyone could particularly blame him, just having seen a world destroyed.

"Hey, ya know, maybe we ought to go find Leon," Goofy offered.

Donald nodded and took a left, leading to a higher portion of the First District. Goofy was about to follow when Pluto, who had somehow sneaked aboard the Gummi Ship, veered off from Donald and moved to the right, nose along the ground. The dog was moving into an alleyway. Donald ignored Pluto and continued on his way.

"Uh, Donald, ya know, I betcha that..." Goofy stopped and pointed the way Pluto was headed.

"Aw, what do you know, you big palooka?" Donald asked, dismissing him with a wave.

"What do I know?" Goofy wondered. He turned and yelled after the dog. "Come on, Pluto!" before following Donald.

* * *

Sora came to feeling a slobbery, wet tongue licking all over his face. He reached up and shoved whatever it was away, trying to piece together what had happened from his darkened memory. The last thing he remembered was Riku...then Kairi...then the Monster and...the Islands!

Sora shot to his feet in terror and looked around quickly. His surroundings consisted of an alleyway of dark red bricks and the occasional scattered garbage can. A few crates were stacked in the back corner and a gangly, golden-colored dog sat obediently in front of him. All this took backseat to the fact that he was no longer on Kinshou or Morningheath and that his Islands were gone. As were his family. As was Riku. As was Kairi.

"Where am I?" Sora wandered out from the Alley, completely forgetting about the dog that had woken him. As he passed into better-lighted areas, he found himself looking at a small Town Square, boxed in by houses on all but two sides. People he did not know wandered about.

Was this...could this...could this be another world? This definitely wasn't Destiny Islands anymore, and Sora could only wonder. His wonderment soon turned to distress as he realized the full weight of what had happened. His home was destroyed. Taken by those dark creatures. He hadn't been able to stop it. Riku had disappeared into darkness and Kairi had just disappeared period. He leaned against a wall and slid to the ground slowly. The bricks felt rough and shoddily made on his back, as if they had been cobbled together as fast as possible. Sora leaned his head into his hands and tried to hold back tears. Riku would probably have playfully shoved him and called him a baby, but he really wouldn't mind that right now. He would be happy just knowing he wasn't alone. That someone was there to support him. Heck, he would be thankful if his mother shook him awake and told him to get to school. To tell him that this was all a dream. But she couldn't do that. Nor could Riku joke with him. They were all gone.

And then there was Kairi. She was gone too. Just like that, poof, gone. She had looked terrible when he had last seen her and remembering her face now only made the tears fall faster. She had looked dead. She really had. That scared Sora more than anything. Riku had disappeared and, aside from his talk about the doors being opened, had seemed fine beforehand. Kairi, in contrast, had looked dead before vanishing. Sora dragged in a shuddering breath and choked, releasing a strangled sob. Why had this happened to him? He had never been outside of Morningheath and the surrounding Islands. He had had no reason to. There were a few far-flung towns outside of Morningheath, but he had never had a reason to go beyond his hometown.

Sora tried to take another breath and was able to hold it without crying this time. He had to look on the bright side. He didn't _know _that they were dead. They could just be missing. They could've arrived in this town just like him!

This small glimmer of hope, growing taller and fuller in the fertile soil of Sora's heart, helped the boy to his feet and assisted him in drying his tears. He swallowed over a lump in his throat and stepped forward, fully out into the Town Square.

Immediately, something crashed into him, knocking him onto his back and forcing whatever-it-was to trip over him. Sora shook his head and looked over. It was a boy, younger than he,who had been running like the devil was chasing him. The boy didn't even look at Sora as he scrambled to his feet and disappeared around a corner.

"And don't ya come back! You trouble making kid!" a voice yelled from down the way. Sora turned and saw a man stepping out from inside one of the shops, waving his fist at the escaping boy. This man looked about 40, with a square face and short, spiked blonde hair. A pair of goggles rested snugly on his forehead, holding back a package of cigarettes above his right ear. He wore a simple white t-shirt, stained with oil and had a belt cinched around his waist, holding all assortment of tools. A single cigarette drooped from his mouth. After shaking his head and scowling, the man caught sight of Sora.

"Never seen you 'round here, before." The man squinted "Ya new? Anything you need help with, kid?

"I'm not a kid." Sora retorted, "And the name's Sora!"

"The hell you are..." the man mumbled, causing Sora to glare at him."Okay, okay, simmer down. Why the long face, Sora? You lost or somethin'?"

"I...I think I am." Sora replied, any anger that he might had felt now gone.

"Well," the man cracked his neck, "Where'd you come from?"

"Destiny Islands." Sora quickly replied, "It's beautiful and warm. The water is clear blue and all the people, I've got all these friends-" Sora caught himself mid-sentence when he realized he was rambling about the Islands. The Islands that were, most likely, now gone. He swallowed over a new lump in his throat.

The man raised an eyebrow."Well...this here is Traverse Town."

"Traverse Town..." Sora said to himself. "So, gramps, is this...is this another world?"

The man's eyes narrowed and he puffed on his cigarette heavily. "Don't call me gramps! The name's Cid! Cid Highwind!" he drew in a breath and calmed."Not sure what the hell you're on about, but this Town sure ain't your Islands."

In the furthest corner of his mind, Sora had thought that maybe, just maybe, this was some part of Destiny Islands he had never seen. But now, with Cid's proclamation, that thought was dashed and he came to the crushing realization that he was on another world. But, he still kept to the hope that since he had shown up here, maybe everyone else had too, including his mother, Riku, and Kairi.

"Well, good luck with whatever the hell it is you're doing." Cid shrugged and turned to walk back into the shop he had come out of. "If you ever run into trouble, you come to me. I'll help ya."

Sora watched the door close shut behind the man. He briefly wondered what Cid's story was and where he had come from, before running off to see if he could find his friends.

* * *

Cid watched out his shop's window as the boy, Sora, disappeared through the walkway to the Second District. For some reason, this little brat stuck in his mind.

F**k

They had people, kids, who came through here everyday, what with the Heartless getting worse and all, so why did this punk stick in his mind? Was it because he almost reminded Cid of Cloud at that age? Or was it something else?

Cid inhaled one last time and threw his cigarette in the garbage. He pulled out another one and lit it with a practiced flick from his lighter. He exhaled on the window. After a moment of thought, he pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. A few rings later, someone picked up.

"Hey there, Squall?" he listened for the reply. "Yeah, I know you don't like it, but shaddap and listen to this: I think it's here." more silence. "The hell do I know! This is gonna sound f***ed up, but I...I just got this feeling-" silence. "He's a f***ing kid! He ain't even older than Yuffie!" again, silence. Except for a muffled, faraway 'I heard that!' Cid coughed and continued."So whadda you got plann-"

**Click.**

"Squall? Squall?" Cid growled and shoved the phone back in his pocket. "Dammit, Squall!"

* * *

Sora slid to an immediate halt when he rounded a corner in the Second District and came face to face with the boy who had crashed into him earlier. He watched the boy with wide eyes for a few moments before realizing that the boy wasn't moving, he was standing completely stiff, arms stretched down at his sides. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open in a wordless scream. Sora yelped in surprise as, suddenly, a black, shadowy hand with jagged fingers appeared through the middle of the boys chest. Sora watched in horror as it squeezed itself into a fist and pulled back. The boy toppled stiffly to the ground, revealing the shadow creature that was standing behind him. It was holding a red, glowing sphere in it's hand. It slowly dropped the orb to the ground and, as soon as it hit, darkness welled up around it. When the darkness had faded a new shadow being stood where the sphere had once been. The new shadow shifted it's antenna around and jerked it's head twice, then disappeared into a portal of darkness.

Sora gulped and looked down at the body. He took a step back when he realized the body was gone. Absolutely gone. No blood, no body, no trace.

Sora's mind was in shock from what he saw. The shadow had reached into the boy's chest, taken a red sphere, created another shadow, and then they both had disappeared. Had they taken the body with them? He didn't have long to think, because a whole cadre of new shadows appeared from dark portals. They twitched once or twice, before three of them jumped at him. Sora concentrated and was able to call the sword to his hand, knocking the shadows away just in time. He now was looking at about nine more of the creatures.

Sora readied himself to be attacked, wondering if he could take down nine of them at once.

Luckily, he wouldn't get to find out because a sudden fwooshing sound came from his left and eight of the nine shadows were destroyed in one burst of fire. The final one jerked his head to where his comrades used to be before being slashed apart by a silver sword with the decorum of a pistol on it's hilt.

"They'll come at you out of nowhere." The voice attached to sword spoke.

Sora looked up to see a tall man dressed in a white shirt and black bomber's jacket with fur on the neckline and black jeans. Three belts hung loosely around the man's waist. He had dark, solemn blue eyes and a sharp face with a jagged scar running from his forehead, over his nose, and under his left eye. Brown hair grew sharply above his ears and down to his shoulders.

"Who're you?" Sora questioned, still holding up his sword.

"-And they'll keep on coming at you, as long at you continue to wield the Keyblade." the man pointed at the weapon in Sora's hand. Keyblade? That's what the voice in his head had said when he'd gotten the sword back on the Paopu Islet! So that's what it was called.

"But why?" the man continued."Why would it choose a kid like you?" he shook his head in disappointment.

"Hey!" Sora hotly responded, "What's that supposed to mean?

"Nevermind." the man sighed and began to walk forward, holding his empty hand out. "Now...let's see that Keyblade."

"What?" Sora exclaimed, "There's no way you're getting this!"

"All right..." the man replied, seemingly unconcerned. "Then have it your way." He pointed his sword forward toward Sora. It gave a quiet click as he did so.

Sora gritted his teeth and took his ready stance. The man's lips twitched in what almost resembled a smirk as he created a small fireball in his hand, then proceeded to throw it at Sora.

Sora barely had time to register that this man had just made fire appear in his hand before the ball of fire, which seemed to have been made more hard than hot, crashed into him, throwing him roughly against the wall.

* * *

Leon sighed and rolled his eyes, hooking his Gunblade back onto position on his belt. That was too easy. Why had the Keyblade chosen him? Was it even safe with him?

"Hey! You found it! Nice going, Leon!" called a female voice from behind.

"Still..." Leon replied to the girl without looking."It seems like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse."

* * *

Donald and Goofy were slowly walkinhg through an empty alleyway that led to another part of the Town. Leon was still nowhere to be found, and Donald was becoming impatient.

"Phooey! Where's Leon? Why are we even here..." he mumbled.

"Excuse me. Did the King send you?" inquired a soft voice.

Donald jumped in surprise and turned to see a young woman with calm green eyes and long, brown braided hair. She wore a pale pink dress and held a small flower basket in her left hand.

"I think there is something I can help you with." the woman continued.

* * *

"Come on, lazy bum. Wake up." a familiar voice spoke to the edges of Sora's mind.

Sora blinked his eyes open. His body was stiff and his head was spinning. And if he was not mistaken, Kairi was standing in front of him!

He couldn't believe it! He had been right! Kairi had ended up here, too! And if Kairi had ended up here, then the others must have too! Sora smiled and, through the dizziness, grabbed Kairi in a huge bear hug.

"Kairi! Kairi, I'm so happy you're okay!" he smiled.

"Hey! HEY!" her muffled voice screamed, "Lemme go!"

Sora continued to hug her tight.

"I said-" she repeated, wrestling herself from his grip, "Lemme. Go."

Sora looked at Kairi incredulously. She must not have known what had happened or what he had gone through. But, even then, this seemed so unlike her.

It was then that the room came into focus, and along with it, Kairi. Or who he had thought was Kairi. Instead of Kairi, in front of him stood a girl about Kairi's hight, maybe a bit older, with short, black hair falling around a black headband, which was tied tightly above a pair of violet eyes. She wore light khaki shorts with a black and gray tank top, in floral patterns, covered with a sleeveless, black vest. Light brown boots were laced tightly up to her knees. A four-pointed metal star was strapped to her back. Sora guessed it was some type of weapon.

"You're—you're not Kairi..." Sora blushed.

The girl rolled her eyes and brushed herself off, "Of _course _I'm not! _I'm _the great ninja Yuffie! Nice to meet'cha!"

Sora sighed and swallowed back the disappointment of having not actually found Kairi, and listened to what Yuffie had begun to say.

"The Heartless attacked you because you have the Keyblade, but they really want your heart, because it can wield the Keyblade—are you even listening to me?" Yuffie asked and shoved her face close to Sora's, studying him intently. "I think you may've overdone it, Squall!"

Sora looked over and saw the man who had attacked him earlier leaning calmly against the wall. His sword was now clipped to one of his belts. "That's Leon." he dispassionately corrected.

The room they were in was sparse. A single table sat in the middle and, aside from a dresser and the bed Sora was sitting on, that was it. Two doors led out of opposite sides of the room.

The man now known as Leon pushed himself off the wall. "Still...hard to believe that you, of all people, are the chosen one..." he looked at Sora for moment before the Keyblade appeared in the young boy's hand. "Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers." Leon finished with a frown.

"Why don't you start making sense!" Sora asked, becoming tired of Leon's ongoing insults, "What's going on here?"

* * *

"Okay," the girl who had identified herself as 'Aerith' began. "You know there are many other worlds out there besides your castle and this town, right?

Aerith had seated herself at the foot of a four poster bed in the hotel room that she had brought Donald and Goofy to. Most of the décor was red. Red outlining on white walls, red bedsheets, a red tablecloth, and two red doors.

"But they're supposed to be a secret." Goofy looked around conspiratorially.

"They've been secret, because they've never been connected. Until now. When the Heartless came-," at the mention of the arrival of the Heartless, Aerith looked at floor for a moment, a sad glint going unnoticed in her eyes.

"-everything changed"

* * *

"The Heartless?" Sora questioned from his place on the side of the bed.

"The ones who attacked you," Yuffie, who was sitting next to him, swinging her feet back and forth, reminded him. "You remember?"

"Those without hearts." Leon added.

Yuffie looked at Sora, "The darkness in people's hearts-that's what attracts them."

"And there is darkness in every heart." Leon continued his lesson, still without any noticeable tone.

"Hey!" Yuffie exclaimed, "Have you heard of someone named Ansem?"

* * *

"Ansem?" Goofy tested the name.

"He was studying the Heartless." Aerith explained. "He recorded all his findings in a very detailed report." At the mention of reports, Donald began to tap his foot impatiently. He had had enough of reports when he was younger.

"Gawrsh, uh, can we see it?" Goofy asked.

Aerith shook her head, "It's pages are scattered everywhere. To many worlds."

"Oh!" Goofy hit upon an idea, "Then maybe the King went to find 'em!"

Donald nodded in agreement.

"Yes, those were my thoughts exactly." Aerith concurred.

Goofy turned to leave. "We've gotta find him quick!"

Donald sighed. As much as he wanted to get this over with, he was one to follow orders from the King."Wait! First we need that 'Key'!"

"That's right. The Keyblade." Aerith smiled from her place on the bed.

* * *

"So...this is the key?" Sora asked as he swung the blade through the air a few times.

"Exactly." Yuffie affirmed with a nod.

Leon continued unemotionally,"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade," he turned and walked back to lean against the wall. "That's why they'll keep coming after you. No matter what."

Sora was quiet for moment. Here he was, a fourteen year old boy from Destiny Islands. He's given a sword called a Keyblade, and had these freaky Heartless creatures follow him around, and now a Ninja-girl and an unemotional man with a scar and name troubles were explaining all of this to him.

"Well, I-I-I didn't ask for this!" Sora declared.

"The Keyblade chooses it's Master. And it chose you." Yuffie answered with a shrug.

Leon just waved him off, "So tough luck."  
"But what happened to my home? My Islands? To Riku?" Sora desperately asked, "To...Kairi." he finished softly.

At the mention of his destroyed home, Sora felt the atmosphere in the room change. Yuffie became very quiet and thoughtful, staring off into space. Leon became gruff.

"You know what? I really don't know." he answered.

Sora thought he might've detected a hint of empathy in the man's abrupt answer, but he didn't have long to ponder if this was possible, since one of the Heartless had spirited itself into existence inside hotel room. This one differed from the normal shadows in that they seemed to be dressed up in metal armor.

Leon and Sora jumped to their feet, "Yuffie, Go!" Leon yelled. The young girl sped over to the door Leon had been leaning beside and plowed through it.

* * *

"Yuffie?" Aerith's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden appearance of her friend. Yuffie ran past her and out the door without explanation. Aerith hastily followed. Donald and Goofy looked at each other and went after them.

* * *

Leon turned to Sora. "Let's Go!" he announced as he used his sword to propel the Soldier Heartless through the door, sending it flying open. They followed after it. Sora jumped off the balcony the door led to and into the alleyway below.

Leon looked down at Sora. "Don't bother with the small fries," he ordered, "Find the leader." Sora nodded as Leon veered off to search on his own.

* * *

Meanwhile, Goofy and Donald had gotten separated from Aerith and Yuffie, finding themselves on a balcony far above Traverse Town's Third District. Goofy turned away from Donald, who was fighting off Heartless with his wand, and noticed, far below, a boy with spiky hair was running out from the Second District. In his hand, he held a strange, key-like sword. Goofy wondered if it could be the Key that the King was looking for.

But his negligence of Donald and Heartless proved to be a bad idea. Goofy was unsure of how it happened, perhaps Donald tried to conjure a larger spell than he should've, or the Heartless had somehow reacted strongly to one of his attacks, but the next thing Goofy knew, Donald had crashed into him, sending both of them flying off the balcony and into the Third District below.

* * *

As Sora ran across the Third District, still looking for the leader Heartless that Leon had mentioned, he heard the sound of screams. Screams which were coming gradually closer. Screams that were coming... from above him?

Sora quickly looked up to see a falling mass of...something. He couldn't tell what it was. He anxiously worried if it was a new type of Heartless and he began to run out of the falling thing's path.

Unfortunately, the next thing Sora felt was the screaming mass crashing into his back, followed by the cobblestone in his face. It was cold and slightly damp.

It was then, quite suddenly, that the screaming stopped and two voices simultaneously yelled in his ears. "The Key!"

Sora arched his neck around as best he could and found himself staring at a dog-like creature and a large-duck both laying atop him. He didn't know what to say, or even think. This was...What does one say to such things? Or even think? He had no idea.

Both creatures pulled themselves off Sora, "We've been a'lookin' for you!" the dog-like creature spoke excitedly.

"For me?" Sora questioned, still incredulous.

"You have the Key the King talked about!" the duck stated, as if it should be a well known fact.

Before Sora could ask about their King or his Key, the ground began to shake and something large crashed to the ground behind him. Sora turned to find himself looking at a giant, purple-metallic Heartless.

It's arms and feet floated in the air, spaced away from the rest of the body by magnetic force. It's head looked much like a knight's helm, with a mask hiding the face. It spun a few times in place and began to advance toward the three, Sora, the duck and the dog. Sora guessed this was the leader.

Sora looked behind him quickly and saw the duck summoning what looked to be a wand. The dog-creature was unstrapping a shield from his back.

Figuring that they were joining him in battle, Sora turned back into a ready stance just in time to be on the receiving end of the Knight Heartless' pointed hand, which had been spinning at a high velocity in his direction.

Sora felt the metal arm crash into him, feeling a sharp pain as a few ribs must've cracked. He screamed in agony as he flew through the air, crashing into one of the buildings and sliding to the ground. He groaned and vomited as his world spun. He looked up and, through the spinning and the pain, thought he saw the Heartless coming toward him again. He recalled the Keyblade to his hand(it had disappeared when he had hit the wall) and used it to help him stand. His world spun faster and a spike of pain shot through him from his broken ribs. Sora just glimpsed the Heartless Knight monster still coming towards him.

Suddenly, he felt the duck with the wand by his side. The duck mumbled a word that sounded like "Cure" and Sora felt, rather than saw, a glowing green light around him for a few seconds. He felt one last twist of pain as his ribs snapped back into place, but it was over within a moment. Next, his vision started clearing and the world around him took on stability. He looked over at the duck questioningly.

The duck shrugged. "You still gotta be careful. My spell has healed you, but you're still gonna be sore and susceptible to injury easier."

Sora nodded and the duck pushed him out of the way just as a giant fist smashed down right where Sora had been. The ground around it cracked and collapsed, creating a small crater in the stone. Sora quickly did a spinning slash while the hand was distracted and cut through the air between the Heartless' right foot and it's body. The foot's connection seemed to have been severed and it tipped to the ground with an empty clang. The Heartless took another swing at Sora, but he dodged straight under it, disconnecting the other foot as well.

Sora smiled to himself, thinking the monster would now collapse, but when he turned, he saw that it was now floating with no legs. The Heartless began to spin it's arms around itself again, keeping anyone from getting close.

Luckily, ducks who knew magic didn't need to be close.

Sora watched in amazement as the duck called out a command of "Thunder!" and a straight bolt of lightning shot out from his wand and connected with the Heartless in the dead center of it's torso. The monster froze. Small lines of lightning leaped across it's body.

"Down!" the duck yelled.

Sora collapsed to the ground just in time, as the torso of the Heartless exploded in a burst of light. He thought that it must be dead now.

Hearing chunks of metal crash into the ground around him, Sora opened his eyes to find the monster still floating in the air. Now just a knightly armored head, and two floating arms.

He couldn't believe this.

The monster glanced around the area, as if wondering where it's body had gone. It then began to spin it's arms around it's head again, and floated slowly towards them.

Sora groaned inwardly, and looked over at the dog and the duck. Something caught his attention. The shield in the dog's hands.

"Hey, can you get me close enough to the Heartless without being hit by it's arms?" Sora hurriedly asked, pointing toward the dog's shield.

"I guess I can." The dog nodded.

Sora smiled and moved behind his ally.

The dog advanced his way toward the beast, with Sora standing behind him. The spinning arms of the Heartless began to beat against the shield, but the dog held his ground, even pushing forward a little.

"How much farther?" he yelled over the constant clanging against his shield.

"Now should be good!" Sora yelled back, "Hold still!"

Sora moved back a bit and and took off running toward the dog's back. Upon reaching it, he jumped up to the shoulders of the dog and used them to propel himself toward the head of the Heartless.

As Sora came down high above the swinging arms, he fancied that the Heartless' eyes would've widened if it had eyes to widen. Throwing this thought aside, he brought the Keyblade down with a mighty slash on the monster's head. The helmet soared into the wall across the District, hitting it with a mighty crash. The arms fell to the ground and the all that was left melted away into darkness.

Sora landed on his feet, using one hand to support him.

After a moment of silence he, the dog and the duck all broke out into cheers of victory and slaps of congratulations on each others' backs. They were all too busy celebrating to notice that a large, glowing heart had floated into the sky from where the Armored Heartless' head had been.

Sora laughed and wiped his forehead with his arm, "So, you two were really looking for me?"

Both of them laughed and nodded.

"They too have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade." came a familiar, monotonous voice from behind.

Sora turned to find Leon and Yuffie, the latter nodding in agreement with the former.

"Hey!" The dog began, "Why doncha come with us? We can go to other worlds on our ship!"

Sora looked down at the ground, and quietly spoke , "I wonder if I could find Riku and Kairi..."

The duck smirked a bit at this, "Of course you could!" he promised. Sora's head jerked up in surprise.

"Really?" his eyes widened with hope.

The dog looked down at the duck in confusion. He grabbed the duck by the arm and dragged him out of hearing distance.

* * *

"Are you sure?" Goofy asked skeptically.

"Who knows?" Donald whispered slyly and pointed to the boy, "But we need him to come with us to help us find the King.."

Donald winked at Goofy, and walked back toward Sora. Goofy just nodded, unsure, and followed his friend.

* * *

Sensing indecision on behalf of the young Keyblade Master, Leon stepped forward. "Sora, go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends."

Sora nodded at Leon, "Yeah...I guess." he sighed.

"But you can't come along looking like that. Understand?" the duck quacked, "No frowning. No sad face. Okay?"

"Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like us!" The dog chuckled.

The duck frowned at the dog and pushed him out of the way, "This boat runs on happy faces." he continued.

"Happy?" Sora asked sadly. He didn't know if he could be happy without knowing his friends and family were okay. But, he knew that if he had any chances of finding them, he had to think positively.

Sora lifted his head up, smiling a smile that was known back on the Islands as "Sora's Goofy Grin" or at least that was what Kairi had dubbed it.

All was quiet for another moment, then the duck and the dog fell over in laughter, Yuffie pointed at Sora with giggles, and Leon just rolled his eyes at the ridiculous nature of the event.

"That's one funny face!" The dog choked from his place on the ground.

A small, normal, smile placed itself on Sora's face, "Okay, why not? I'll go with you guys."

Apparently feeling that introductions were long overdue, the duck reached out his hand, "Donald Duck" he stated his name.

The dog caught on. "Name's Goofy!" he reached out a hand as well.

"Well, I'm Sora." Sora put out his hand. All three placed their hands on top of each others'.

"All for one, one for all!" Goofy chuckled.

Sora looked at these two new faces he would be traveling with for the foreseeable future. A duck who seemed to be able to wield magic, and a dog who carried a shield. Odd companions to be sure, but Sora knew he'd get used to it. They might not exactly be his friends, but they were at least traveling comrades.

Sora smiled.

At least he wasn't alone anymore.

* * *

Leon watched as Sora, Donald and Goofy turned and walked toward the First District and the outer gates of Traverse Town. Leon thought Donald was explaining something about the usage of Fire spells to Sora. Something like that, he couldn't quite hear.

Leon smirked slightly as they disappeared out of he had underestimated that kid. Maybe there was something to this. He knew he had to go tell the others. This could be what they had been waiting all this time for.

"Man, Leon! Did you see that? Sora took down that big Heartless! That was amazing! Maybe the Keyblade chose the right wielder!" Yuffie exclaimed in long sentences beside him, rocking on her heels. "C'mon! Let's get back to the others!"

Leon watched Yuffie race off toward the Fourth District and where they normally gathered at Tifa's house.

He thought Yuffie was right. Maybe the Keyblade had chosen the right Master.

Maybe it had.

* * *

On the other side of the Galaxy, a collection of beings were gathered around a stone table, watching the events that had unfolded in Traverse Town.

"That little squirt took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it" a slick-voice spoke in abject surprise.

"Such is the power of the Keyblade," a lofty British accent scoffed, "The child's strength is not his own."

"Why don't we turn him into a Heartless?" a deep, female voice laughed, "That'll settle things quick enough!"

"And the brat's friends are the King's lackeys! Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them!" another voice spoke in horror.

A deep, male voice chuckled."You're no prize yourself!"

"Shut Up!"

"Enough." a high, echoing female voice commanded. "The Keyblade has chosen him...Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him?"

A woman stepped out into plain sight.

She wore a large, voluminous black cloak and had two black horns jutting from her head. Her skin tone was between pale white and sickly green; her eyes were yellow on a thin face. She held a green-tipped staff in her left hand.

"Either way, he could be quite useful..." She smiled malevolently.

* * *

On the same side of the galaxy, Riku Jishin awoke.

His whole body felt stiff. Like the mornings after sparring with Sora all the previous day. His left leg seemed to be resting in a few inches of water. The rest of his body was laying, face down, on cold, wet stone.

Riku stretched his legs and arms, painfully pushed himself to his feet, and shook his leg to get any water out he could.

When he looked up, he wondered if he was still dreaming.

A long, stone pathway cut through reflecting pools of water. A few yards ahead of him, the pathway split into two more pathways heading out on either side, eventually disappearing into the thick fog that blanketed the area. The path did the same another few yards behind him.

Other than that, the main path continued onward toward an imposing gate surrounding an area that seemed to have held a garden at one point. Beyond that, Riku could just glimpsed a massive door.

"Where...am...I?" Riku mumbled to himself. Heturned about, adamantly telling himself that he wasn't confused. He just needed to explore. Gather some info. Then he'd set out to find-

Then it hit him. It hit him in such rapid succession that he bowed over at his waist like he'd been gut-punched.

_The Islands._

_The Door._

_The Darkness._

_Sora._

_Kairi._

_Home._

Riku ran his hand anxiously through his hair. He had to keep his cool. He had too. Stay calm was his first rule. Keeping calm allowed him to keep control, and that's what was important.

He took a deep breath.

Then he screamed. He screamed Sora's name. He screamed Kairi's name. He almost screamed for help before he stopped himself. There was no need for that. No one was answering him anyway.

He took a heavy breath in. The mist seemed to close in around him, entrapping him in a box of vapor. He couldn't see beyond the mist. Who knew what was on the other side of it? He was in what he could only guess to be another world. He finally had gotten his wish, only to find that he still longed to know what was beyond the mists.

Suddenly, this place felt a lot like home.

* * *

_Yes, I will be incorporating many of the Final Mix cutscenes into each game._

_As always, please review! _

_~Mars_


	5. Through the Looking Glass

_(Updated as of 8/28/09)_

_I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything related._

* * *

_**Chapter V: Through the Looking Glass  
**__~Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. __That's logic~  
__~Lewis Carroll_

"Welcome to the Gummi Ship, Sora!" Goofy grinned.

Sora nodded numbly, staring in awe at the room he had arrived in. The ship itself seemed to have self-landed outside the city, and they had walked into the ship through a ramp in the hallway and were now standing in the cockpit; three seats placed in front of a panel of colorful controls, levers, and buttons. Above that was a large, curved window looking out over the blank landscape outside of Traverse Town. A small couch was sitting against the side wall.

Goofy pointed down the hall, "There are two bedrooms down thataway. You can have one and me and Donald'll share the other." At this, Donald noticeably balked at the loss of his room, and was about to complain, but Goofy covered the duck's mouth, "Past them is the kitchen at the end of the hall,with the bathroom off that!"

"Goofy! Be quiet! He'll figure it out himself..." Donald pushed past Goofy's hands.

"Wow...this..is so cool!" Sora laughed excitedly, the numbness now wearing off, quickly replaced by a feeling of "_I'm-in-a-spaceship!" _Sora ran over and sat down in the foremost seat. Thrilled, he lifted his hand above the control panel, not particularly caring which button did what.

"Don't press anything!" Donald quacked angrily, rapping Sora's hand with his wand. "And get out of my chair!"

Sora sulked out of the chair, nursing his wounded hand."Awww..."

"It's almost bedtime, Sora, we're gonna take off." Goofy offered, "Why doncha head down to your room and get some shut-eye. It's the one on the right"

"I have bedtimes, even here?" Sora sighed as he watched his dreams of this spaceship fall apart.

"Hmm...I guess you kinda do!" Goofy said happily after a moment of thought.

Sora nodded, resigned to the fact that he wouldn't be touching the controls or staying up late anytime soon.

"We'll be at the first world before morning." Donald announced without looking up from the controls.

This slightly lifted Sora's mood and he raced off to his room, leaving the cockpit to the grumbled complaints of Donald.

* * *

Sora laid prone on his blue-sheeted bed, staring listlessly at the ceiling. His room was nothing special to speak of, just a desk and a bureau. Dark-blue walls adorned with paintings of a bright white and blue castle. A curtained window was close next to his bed.

Donald had said they would be at a new world in the morning. He could only wonder what it would be like. Aliens? Monsters? A slave-world ruled by a tyrant? Sora shook his head. It was hard to believe he was actually heading to new world, new worlds that he and Riku had only speculated about before two days ago. Maybe they would find Kairi's home out here. Thinking of Kairi, Sora absently ran his hands along the crown pendant necklace around his neck. It had been a gift from Kairi for his thirteenth birthday, chosen by her with money from Riku, He had worn it every day since then. He felt a small amount of comfort drawn from it, keeping in mind the memories of his two friends.

As Sora felt the Gummi accelerate, he peeked out through the light-blue curtains, mouth dropping in awe.

As far as space seen from Destiny Islands went, all that was seen was the pale white moon at night and evening, and the scattered yellow and white stars. Plus the occasional meteor shower.

But what Sora saw now was something that went far beyond anything he had seen before.

Purple, green, and blue nebulaes flew past, swirling portraits of color throughout the vastness of space.

More common, though, were reds, oranges and yellows. Little pricks of yellow dotted the blue. Red and orange churned together to make bright displays on the galactic canvas. Sora wondered if even the greatest artists of Destiny Islands could paint something this magnificent. He gripped tightly onto the crown pendant. He couldn't wait to tell Kairi and Riku about this.

Watching the stars fly past, Sora's mind traveled back to the last he had seen his friends.

Riku on the Paopu Islet...the darkness covering him, eating him, sucking him in. Then he was gone.

What had happened to him?

He had spoken of the door that had been opened, of the darkness, just like that man in the Secret Place.

Could that man have taken Riku?

Or could Riku have left of his own will?

It certainly sounded like the latter, it hadn't looked like the man had done anything aside from stand in the Secret Place and be ominous.

Then there was Kairi.

Sora was, quite frankly, more worried about Kairi. He knew that Riku could handle himself, even better than Sora himself could. He had faith that nothing terrible was going to happen to Riku, but he was anxious about Kairi's wellbeing.

For seven years, ever since that meteor shower, Sora had felt the need to protect Kairi. To keep her safe.

And now? Now what? Kairi was gone, and he couldn't protect her. He knew she had more than enough willpower to hold off almost anything, but when it came to physically defending herself...well, she had always liked drawing better than dueling. Plus, there was the unsettling nature of the last time he saw her. In his mind's eye, he watched as Kairi turned and looked at him with blank, blue irises. He flinched as he remembered the door opening and Kairi disappearing. Sora swallowed and turned away from the window. No need to dwell on sad memories, it'd be better to just focus on a positive future. A positive future of finding Riku and Kairi. Sora smiled and allowed the drone of the Gummi Shop to lull him to sleep.

* * *

"We're here! Wonderland!"

Sora awoke, hearing Donald's muffled announcement over the intercom. Seeing the intercom as a beast attempting to wake him from his slumber, he threw a pillow at it and went back to sleep. A few minutes later, Sora heard his door slide open. He hoped whoever it was would leave him alone to sleep, so he purposely ignored the invader.

He soon felt a tingling sensation travel throughout his body, working it's way from his middle to the extremities. Soon enough, he no longer felt a bed beneath him, he simply felt nothing. But that wasn't to last, because he felt the wind whooshing past his ears as he fell through the air. But this to was not last either, because he and the ground soon became intimately acquainted. What had Donald done? Teleported him? Was that how they left the Gummi Ship?

"_Great _place to land us in, Donald." Sora said sarcastically, rubbing a bump on his head. They had landed in a small tunnel with a cozy atmosphere. For some reason that Sora didn't understand, furniture appeared to have been painted onto the walls.

Donald turned red, "It isn't exact, you-!"

"Oh, my fur and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" A small, stout white rabbit exclaimed as it ran past the trio, glancing at the large pocketwatch it held. The rabbit was dressed in a little red frock with a pair of glasses perched upon his nose.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm here, I should be there!" the white rabbit mumbled, sliding around a corner and disappearing. Sora, Donald and Goofy stared in the direction the White Rabbit gone, all wondering where it had come from. The tunnel they were standing in ended right behind them, so had the Rabbit fallen from the sky above with them?

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! The queen, she'll have my head for sure!" the Rabbit's nasally voice echoed from beyond the corner.

"Let's follow it!" Donald quacked and sped off after it.

Sora quickly shrugged off the fact of a White Rabbit talking and being late, the same way he had shrugged off a talking duck that knew magic and a talking dog that had a shield, following the White Rabbit as well down what could only be described as a Rabbit Hole.

Turning the corner, Sora found himself staring into another cozy looking room. The only light in the room came from a small hearth glowing fiery in the corner, casting a red glow over the two soft, red armchairs. A spindly table sat in the middle of the room, two small bottles resting on it's top.

"Gawrsh! What a comfortable little room!" Goofy smiled and relaxed in the larger of the two armchairs, warming his hands by the fire. Donald was busy searching the room for where the White Rabbit could've disappeared to.

"Where could that rabbit have gone..." Donald mumbled, looking under the armchair. Sora turned from watching the fire.

"Is that another door down there, Donald?" he asked as he got down on his knees to get a better look. Sure enough, it was a small door, no taller than foot high, that had been missed in the low lighting. "He must've gone through here."

"How'd he get so small?" Donald poked at the door's golden knob.

"No, you're simply too big!" replied the doorknob, matter-of-factly. "Now, would you please remove your hand from my nose, it's quite bothersome."

"WAH! It talks!" screeched Donald, stumbling back. Sora looked closer and saw that the doorknob had sprouted eyes above the knob and the keyhole had become a mouth.

Sora wondered what kind of world this was. It wasn't what he and Riku had expected.

"Must you be so loud?" The knob continued, yawning. "You woke me up."

"Good mornin'!" Goofy waved happily from his place in the armchair.

"Good night!" The knob replied succinctly, "I need a bit more sleep..." With that, it's eyes began to close.

"Wait!" Sora moved closer to the doorknob to keep it awake, "What do we have to do to grow small?"

"Why don't you try the bottle...Over there." the doorknob gestured its nose toward the two bottles on the table. One was blue, the other was red. Sora didn't stop to think how bad of an idea it was to drink from strange bottles on strange tables, or after a doorknob tells you to do so, but walked over and grabbed both of the bottles.

"Sora, maybe we should-" Goofy began, finally moving from his armchair, but Sora had already chugged down a large amount of the blue bottle, the only one he seemed able to open. "-think about this first."

Donald and Goofy found themselves staring with large eyes at Sora for a few moments. The doorknob, now forgotten and not really caring to be remembered, fell back asleep.

Donald spoke slowly. "How do you feel, Sora?"

"I..." Sora began. "It tasted like blueberries."

The room fell to silence again, everyone still watching Sora for any changes.

"Aw, who cares!" Donald finally shrugged and took a sip of the blue bottle. Goofy followed suit and hesitantly drank as well.

For another few minutes, everyone watched each other for changes.

"Well, that was pointle-" Donald began, but in one huge puff, he had disappeared.

Sora looked around quickly, trying to see if the duck had moved. Suddenly, Goofy disappeared as well.

"Uh...guys?" Sora asked outloud, finally realizing that taking a drink of an unknown liquid might not have been the best course of action. The next thing Sora knew, he was staring at the sleeping doorknob at eye level.

"Finally, Sora, it took you awhile!" Donald said from behind. Sora turned and found himself looking up at the room they had been in. The table and armchairs had grown huge and the blue and red bottles lay dropped on the floor beside him.

Goofy chuckled. "I guess it worked! We're tiny now!"

"So we can fit through the door!" Sora exclaimed and ran over to said door.

"Hey there!" Sora greeted as he approached it. "Mr. Doorknob?"

The doorknob replied with a snore.

"Doorknob? Hello?" Sora knocked on him, resulting in only a snort, a grunt, and more snores.

"Hey, Sora! Take a lookie here!" Goofy pointed toward a small hole in the wall, gone unnoticed until now.

"Awesome!" Sora smiled. They were gonna see what was beyond this room. This world had been very strange so far and Sora wondered just how far it was going to go. More importantly, though, he wondered if Kairi or Riku were here.

* * *

"Not-so-awesome..." Sora moaned as he tumbled from a bush into plushy grass, "Ah, my back...in pain..." He didn't stop to wonder how the hole had brought them out through a bush. It wasn't worth it. Some things in this Wonderland just...happened.

Unfortunately for Sora, no sooner had he sat up than Donald popped out of the bushes and fell on top of him; followed by Goofy.

"Urgh." Sora moaned from the underneath the two creatures. "Get offa me!" he pushed himself up, throwing them off in the process, but he stopped short when he saw what lay in front of him: An army of playing cards, all about his size, stood around a makeshift courtroom. A young girl with long blonde hair and a bright blue dress stood before a tall platform on which sat a large woman in a throne with a small crown settled on her head and large red robes around her bulky form. She was tapping a short scepter in impatience. The 'courtroom' itself was fenced in by large hedges, similar to the one Sora, Donald and Goofy had just fallen from.

The White Rabbit appeared from a behind a hedge to the right and ran quickly up a small staircase to a tower off the large platform and blew a golden horn.

"Court is now in session!" it panted.

The girl turned in shock to the Rabbit, "I'm on trial? But why?"

"Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!" the rabbit continued, ignoring the girls' question.

The obtuse woman on the platform began to speak firmly. "This girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it." the rabbit nodded its head in agreement as the Queen continued, "And the reason is...because I say so, that's why!"

Sora watched the proceedings from a sitting position behind it all. This whole place was so odd.

"Th—that is so unfair!" the girl weakly defended.

The queen leaned forward haughtily, "Well, have you anything to say in your defense?"

"Of course! I've done absolutely nothing wrong!" the girl wagged her finger at the Queen. At this, Sora noticed the Rabbit's eyes widen and its head swivel around. It seemed to be looking for a route of escape. Sora wondered why. "You may be Queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so...so mean!" the girl finished. At this, the Rabbit jumped from it's pedestal and disappeared from sight.

The Queen's jaw trembled and released a scream of "Silence!" that sent gusts of wind blowing throughout the entire courtroom. "You dare defy me!"

"Hey guys..." Sora spoke quietly in the back, so as to not draw undue attention to themselves, "Maybe we should help the girl out..."

"Yeah...but the-" Donald began.

"We're outsiders, so wouldn't that be muddling?" Goofy finished for Donald.

"Meddling!" Donald corrected angrily in a whisper.

"Right, meddling! And that's against the rules." Goofy chuckled.

Sora cocked his head in confusion and continued to listen to the verdict.

The Queen pounded upon the table in front of her. "The court finds the defendant guilty as charged! For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart..."

At the words, "Attempted theft of my heart..." Sora's head perked up. Hearts. Theft. Isn't that what the Heartess do? Sora bet they were the ones who had tried to steal that Queen's heart. The girl didn't seem the type to even contemplated doing such a thing, he had seen it in her bright blue eyes when she had turned away from the Queen's screaming. In fact, now that he thought about it, the young girl's eyes reminded him a lot of Kairi's...

"...OFF WITH HER HEAD!" the Queen screamed. Her card-soldiers all turned toward the girl, axes raised. Sora knew then that now matter how much meddling was against the rules, he was going to help this girl, and anyone else who needed help. In whatever world.

Forgetting about Donald and Goofy, who stayed back, Sora began to push his way through the sea of cards that had formed around the girl.

"Wait just a minute!" he yelled out to stall for time.

The Queen stood up on her platform, scanning the crowd of cards. "Who are you?" her soldiers folded back, leaving Sora to stand in the middle of the courtroom with the girl standing beside him. She was now peering at him questioningly. " How dare you interfere with my court?" the Queen demanded.

"Well, you see, I, uh, know who the real culprit is!" Sora announced.

Goofy raised his hand from the other side of the mass, "Uh-huh. It's the Heartle-"

Donald quickly covered Goofy's mouth, pushing him back towards the bushes.

"Anyway," Sora continued, "she's not the one you're looking for."

The Queen drummed her fingers, "That's nonsense. Have you any proof?"

"Uhhh..." Sora stuttered.

"Guards! Lock the girl in the cage." two of the soldiers walked up and dragged the girl out of the courtroom. "And you three fools..." she pointer her scepter on Sora, Donald and Goofy. "Bring me evidence of Alice's innocence, or it's off with ALL your heads. Now get out of my court!"

Sora gulped and left through the same way the cards who had taken the girl had gone. Donald and Goofy followed behind.

"Sora!" Donald yelled at him. "What have you gotten us into?"

"I...I don't know exactly. I just knew that we had to help." Sora said without looking back.

Goofy came up behind him and placed a large hand on his shoulder. "Gawrsh, Sora, that's really nice of you."

Sora smiled and nodded at Goofy. "We need to find that girl and find out what we did get into..."

"We?" Donald stomped his foot. "_I_ didn't get us into anything! _Goofy _didn't get us into anything-"

"Excuse me, but who are you?" A soft voice interrupted. Sora turned to see a a cage with a purple velvet curtain hanging from it, split at the middle revealing the young girl.

The Keyblade Master smiled. "I'm Sora, and that's Donald and Goofy."he said, pointing toward said companions. Donald didn't look happy, arms crossed and foot tapping. Goofy was smelling a rose.

"Pleased to meet you," the girl curtsied from within in the cage, "though I do wish it were under better circumstances." she glanced back towards the courtroom, visible over the hedges. Sora swallowed and nodded in agreement. "I'm Alice, by the way." the girl introduced herself. "Thank you for your offer to help me, it is really quite kind of you."

"It's no problem." Sora answered, "Do you have any idea where we can get proof that you didn't try to steal the Queen's heart?"

"You might try and talk to the Chesire Cat, he's a odd fellow. He was the one who sent me to the Queen of Hearts in the first place. I met him in the forest, if that at all helps." Alice offered.

Sora nodded, "We'll find some evidence, I'm sure of it. You'll be out of there in no time!"

Alice offered her gratitude again, as Sora grabbed Donald and Goofy and went off to find the Chesire Cat. As he walked away he heard Alice speaking to herself about how she should've stayed away from the silly Rabbit Hole.

* * *

"Waaahh!" Donald quacked as a branch rebounded and hit him in the forehead, sending him sprawling to the ground. "You just had to get involved! Why? Why did you have to meddle? Why did you involve us? Me!"

"I couldn't just let Alice get her head chopped off, Donald." Sora retorted, "Plus, the Heartless are involved...maybe we can stop 'em here! Plus..." Sora leaned toward Donald, conspiratorially. "I swear that flower just spoke! How cool is that?"

Donald blinked at Sora for a moment, not believing the boy's carefree attitude. He sighed."None of this was our mission- WAAAAAHHH!" Donald screamed again as purple cat appeared in front of him. Or, more specifically, just the head of a cat; and this head was grinning wide. "What are you?" Donald asked.

Sora's and Goofy's eyes widened as they watched the floating head bounce back and forth a bit, grin still attached, and then disappear; only to reappear in front of Sora's face, this time, with a cat body balancing on one foot atop it.

"What, indeed?" the Cat replied, still standing on it's head, "Poor Alice. Soon to lose her head, and she's not guilty of a thing!"

"Hey, if you know who the culprit is, tell us!" Sora prodded the Cat as it persisted in its balancing act.

"The Chesire Cat has all the answers-" the cat smiled wider, if that were possible, "But doesn't always tell. The answer, the culprit, the cat all lie in darkness."

"What?" Sora asked, perplexed, but the cat had already faded away into nothing.

The Cat's voice continued from all around them, "They've already left the forest. I won't tell which exit. Find the evidence, big reward if you do."

Donald asked the obvious, "Should we trust him?"

"To trust, or not to trust?" the voice came from behind. They all turned to see the cat, properly connected now, hanging from a branch by its bushy purple and dark pink striped tail. "I trust you'll decide!" with that, it faded away again.

Sora, Donald and Goofy all looked at each other, thoroughly confused

"Did either of you catch any of that?" Sora asked. Both of his companions shook their heads.

"I guess we should start a'lookin for an exit in the forest!" Goofy supplied.

They searched high and low. Underneath logs and up in trees for the better part of the afternoon. And, aside from some talking flowers and the far away rumbles of an angry Queen, they heard and found nothing.

"Gah! This is a waste of time!" Donald screamed, "We should be looking for the King! Not some some evidence of a girl's innocence!"

Sora popped out from inside a dead and collapsed tree trunk he had been searching, "Don't you think your King would want you to help Alice?" he asked simply. Donald's jaw flexed, but no words came out.

"Hmmm..." Sora pulled himself out of the rotting trunk. They had run into one suspicious tree. It had been really, really big. Kinda reminded him of the tree on Kinshou back home, the one the Secret Place was inside. Sora, surprising himself, began to connect some dots in his mind. If that tree was so huge, maybe it was hollow as well. He wondered briefly how he was figuring this out, it didn't really feel like him doing the thinking, but if the that tree was anything like the Secret Place...

Sora's thoughts were then interrupted by one overarching, grim thought.

The Secret Place didn't exist anymore.

"Hey guys? I want to head back to the one really big tree, I think there might be something we missed."

Goofy nodded and followed after him, Donald rolled his eyes but followed anyway, mumbling the whole time.

"This is the one!" Sora said when the reached the suspicious tree. He called the Keyblade to his hand and began to concentrate.

He thought about the stuff Donald had taught him regarding Fire Magic, about how you concentrate on heat and flames and fire. Sora began to feel a warmth spread through his body. He then took control of that warmth, forcing it toward the tip of his Keyblade.

"Fire!" he whispered.

A small ball of fire shot from the tip of the Keyblade and exploded against the trunk of the tree, forming a neat hole in it's side.

The tree was hollow. Just like Kairi had thought. Wait? Kairi? Kairi hadn't thought of it, he had. So why did it feel like it had been Kairi's idea? Sora chuckled and shook his head to clear the odd feeling away.

He glanced briefly over at Donald, who's subtle nod betrayed his impressed state. Sora grinned and moved through the new hole, still smoldering. The exit had to be in there somewhere. Fortunately for him, sunlight shone through the hole and illuminated a path of light in front of him, and at the far end of that area of light was a box.

Was this the evidence?

"Well, look what you've found." the cat's voice spoke. Sora looked to his right and saw the floating eyes and smile of the cat in the dark, just off the lit area.

"The evidence is all wrapped up in a box? Just like that?" Sora found this just a bit too odd.

The cat tilted it's smiling, floating facial features and blinked, "Why? Doesn't all evidence come in boxes?"

Sora shook his head, "Nevermind. Now we can save Alice!"

The cat's smile continued unabated, "Don't be so sure! She may be innocent, but what about you?"

Sora's raised and eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

The cat continued its creepy smile, "I won't tell," it chuckled, "But I'll give you something."

Sora suddenly felt freezing cold flow through him. He didn't remember ever feeling this cold before in his life. But just as soon as he felt the chills seep into his bones, they stopped.

"What was...?"

"Let it snow!" The cat chuckled a bit more and its eyes blinked out. Then it's teeth followed suit, one-by-one.

Sora shook his head at the strangeness and made his way out of the trunk.

"Didja find anything?" Goofy asked.

Sora hefted the small box in his hand and smiled.

"Let's go get Alice."

* * *

"One Box. Choose, fool!" The Queen ordered.

Sora's jaw dropped. Choose one evidence at random? His versus hers? That's how she ran her court? He briefly looked at the cage Alice was held it. It had been brought into the courtroom for the session. Alice just smiled half-heartedly and gave him an encouraging nod.

"But-"

"You dare defy me! Then you shall lose YOUR head!" the Queen pounded on her table again.

Sora's eyes flitted between the two boxes of evidence the Queen had mixed up. One was his. The other was hers. Whichever he chose would be the one she would base her judgment on.

"Hurry up! I haven't got all day!" The Queen bellowed.

Sora nodded, but kept glancing between the two boxes, completely unsure. He looked to Donald and Goofy for help, but Goofy just stared back at him blankly and Donald gave him a "_You got yourself into this one, pal._" look. No help from them.

Abruptly, there was a flash and Sora felt the Keyblade in his hand.

What could it want?

He suddenly began to feel it tug at him, pulling him ever-so-slightly toward the left box. Sora looked oddly at the box before deciding to trust the Keyblade.

"So that's your choice? _Finally_. Let us see." One of the card-soldiers walked up to it and removed the lid. Only to promptly fall back in surprise as a small Heartless Soldier jumped from the box and disappeared into a portal of darkness..

The Queen leapt to her feet, "What in the world was that?" she screamed.

Sora smiled and thanked the Keyblade, "There's your evidence. Alice is innocent."

The Queen's face reddened significantly. Sora began to wonder how she didn't burst a blood vessel.

"Rrrrrrrrrghhh...SILENCE! I AM THE LAW HERE!" her scream shook the area "Article 29: Anyone who defies the Queen is guilty!"

Donald jumped from his place to the side, "That's crazy!" he screeched.

"Seize them! OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" The Queen demanded, pounding the table in front of her so hard that it cracked down the middle.

The cards began mobilizing themselves toward Sora, while one stumbled over to the cage and covered it in the velvet cloth, hiding Alice from view. Donald and Goofy ran over to join their companion.

"You get Alice from that there cage! We'll hold off the cards!" Goofy told Sora..

Sora nodded and ran over to the cage, beating a card or two from his way. A few steps before he could reach it, though, a large card bearing the symbol of the Ace of Hearts blocked his path. It held a large mace in its hands, chuckling slightly at the sight of the small boy in front of him. The card brought it's mace up above it's head, intending to crush the unarmed boy into the ground, but Sora brought the Keyblade into existence, ready to block the downward blow.

After a few minutes of dueling the massive card, Sora built up enough energy to call upon Fire Magic again, and used it to catch the card on fire. It ran away screaming into the foliage.

Sora reached up and grabbed the purple cloth from the cage, ripping it off in one smooth motion. But when he looked into the cell, he found nothing. No Alice, and no trace of her getting away. It was just empty. How had she gotten out?

"She's—she's gone!" Sora yelled.

Immediately, all the fighting stopped and every eye turned toward the cage. It was indeed empty. Locked and empty. Alice was gone.

"She must've gotten kidnapped while we were fighting..." Donald muttered, calling down a small lighting bolt to fry the card in front of him while it was distracted with the empty cage. No one seemed to notice or care at their comrade being felled so unceremoniously.

"You fools!" the Queen screamed, upturning the cracked table. "Find the one who's behind this! I don't care how!" The cards all ran off to do their mistress' bidding. Find the missing Girl, find the person who kidnapped her. A few heads would probably roll in the end.

Sora ran over to Goofy and Donald and whispered. "Maybe the Chesire Cat knows. I say we find him."

* * *

Upon entering the forest for a second time, Sora immediately noticed a large rock that hadn't been there before. Sitting atop it was none-other than the Chesire Cat, now resting on it's arms with the whole the rest of it's body pointing into the air. Sora marveled briefly at the simplicity of finding the cat.

"Have you seen Alice?" he asked without missing a beat, he was becoming used to this odd place.

"Alice, no. Shadows, yes!" The Cat continued its never-abating smile.

"Where did they go?" Goofy questioned.

The Cat pointed left with its foot,"This way?" the cat then switched to point right, "That way? Does it matter? Left, right, up, down! All mixed up thanks to the shadows!" the Cat chortled, "Step deeper into the forest to the deserted garden. You might find shadows in the upside-down room!" the cat knocked its tail against the rock below him, cocked his ears as if listening, then chuckled. It's body then disappeared and the head bounced once and rolled away.

Sora shook his head, "That Cat's crazy..."

"So, uh, whadda we do?" Goofy asked no one in particular.

"We go back to the Gummi Ship..." Donald mumbled.

Sora ignored the duck. "We go deeper into the forest, just like the cat said." With that, Sora turned and walked deeper into odd forest of Wonderland. As he walked, he began to wonder if this was what all worlds were like. He laughed to himself when he imagined Riku's face at seeing _this _world. He wondered if Riku had discovered another world already. Could he there now? Sora wondered what other worlds were out there. Could they be stranger than this one? With it's Chesire Cats and warring cards? Or were there more like the Islands?

_The Islands that don't exist._

This time, Sora didn't push the thought away. As he walked through the forests with Donald and Goofy trailing behind, he thought about his home. It was gone. All of his home had been destroyed and, for all he knew, he was the only living citizen of Destiny Islands. The only survivor. Sora blinked back a few tears. His home was gone. His best friends were missing and and now he was searching for Shadows on the whimsical order of an perpetually-grinning cat. Sora took a deep breath. He had to think positively. It'll be fine in the end, he'd find Riku and Kairi and then would then find a way to get the Islands back. He dried his tears and smiled again. Together, they'd make sure everything turned out fine-

With a resounding smash, the distracted Sora found himself repelled by an unknown force.

"Oof..." Sora groaned as he fell back to the ground. What had happened? He reached forward and pressed his hands against what seemed to be...a wall? A wall painted like the forest?

Donald waddled up beside him and tapped his wand against the object.

"It's a wall! Oh well, I guess we need to turn around!" Donald turned and began to walk back.

Goofy began to help Sora up. "Hey, lookie here, Sora! There's a small hole here in the wall!"

As Sora stood up, sure enough, there was a small dark hole in the wall, just left of where he had crashed.

"Could this be what that Cat was talkin' about?" Goofy wondered aloud.

Sora walked over and began to climb through, "C'mon! Let's see!" Goofy followed. Donald groaned.

"Why me...why can't we just find the King?"

* * *

When they walked out of the darkened tunnel, they arrived in a room that reminded Sora much of the first room in Wonderland, the one with the sleepy doorknob. In fact, it looked almost exactly the same.

"They're hiding somewhere." the Chesire Cat said, appearing against the wall. "And the momeraths outgrabe. You want to find the shadows?" it's eyebrows quirked, "Try turning on the lights." the cat then faded away.

"Stupid Cat!" Donald muttered in annoyance.

Sora was looking around for something to light, a switch, a lantern, a torch, anything, when he noticed something important.

"Guys...is that the door room up there?" he pointed up. Sure enough, on the ceiling of this room was the table with the shrinking drinks, and there down beside it was the sleeping doorknob, still cast in the shadows of the glowing hearth.

"Wah!" Donald yelled and latched onto Goofy around the waist, who in turn grabbed onto a large pedestal in front of him, "We're on the ceiling!"

"I think this is the floor...I mean, I'm not falling or anything..." Sora said. He wondered if this was what the cat meant when it said all the directions were mixed up. "I'm gonna climb up that pedestal and see if I can get a better view." Donald and Goofy nodded from their place, gripped upon said pedestal.

When Sora reached the top, he found a small lantern placed there, and across from it; another pedestal and another lantern.

"Hah!" Sora laughed in victory, These must be the lights the cat talked about. He brought the Keyblade up and lit the closest lantern with a yell of "Fire!"

"It's too dim. Make it brighter." The Cat's voice spoke from all around. Sora nodded and lit the other lantern, "All the lights are on. You'll see the shadows soon. They'll arise in this room, but somewhere else." the cat cackled, "The shadows might go after that doorknob, too." Then the room fell into silence. Sora noted that, upon lighting the second light, the fire in the fireplace above had gone out.

"Gawrsh, maybe we should head back to the first room? Right way up, huh?" Goofy offered.

Sora nodded and they all took off at a run to get back to the Queen's Garden and the hole in the bushes they had entered from.

* * *

Upon pouring out of the small hole in the wall and into the original room, Sora noticed the Chesire Cat reclining on top of the table.

"You'll have a better view from higher up." It said down to them.

Sora nodded and the three climbed up to the table to take a look around.

"The shadows should be here soon...Are you prepared for the worst? If not, too bad!" The cat pointed to the ceiling and disappeared with a chuckle.

Sora looked up and saw a huge black and red Heartless jump down from the ceiling. It landed on the ground, on it's arms, and sprang to its feet. It stood on thin legs, three or four times as tall as Sora. It had several heads, all black and red, stacked atop each other. It's arms were thin black ribbons, each holding a little fire stick that resembled matches.

The towering Heartless flicked the two fire sticks against it's body, immediately lighting them. It then proceeded to swipe them at Sora, Donald and Goofy. The trio jumped from the table and landed on the floor while the monster attempted to strike them with a few shots of fire magic.

Sora ran for safety inside the bottom of the chimney. He hid against the far wall, out of sight from the outside, trying to think of a plan. Or something. A plan wasn't really necessary. He probably could just hit it till it died.

Unfortunately for him, the Heartless saw where he had gone and shot another sphere of fire at him, this one hitting right where one would normally start a fire in the hearth for heat. Sure enough, the chimney caught and flames began to quickly grow. Sora was now scrunched up against the back wall of the chimney, a roaring fire rippling in front of him. He could feel the heat searing the edges of his clothes and hair, and sweat began to pour down his face. That was when he remembered the chills that the Chesire Cat had given him. Blizzard.

Sora began to think about frost, about ice, about cold. Things that were rare, nigh nonexistent, on Destiny Islands. But the situation called for the need of some imagination. Of course, without any experience in knowing bitter cold, Sora's mind raced to the extreme that he had only read about. He called upon the chilling cold he had felt earlier, aided by his imagination on snow and ice. He took influence over the wintry feelings inside him and directed them outward from the tip of the Keyblade, which had begun to burn his hand.

Instead of a clean ball of ice, like Fire had done, an explosion of arctic ice detonated from the Keyblade, most likely due to the extremes Sora's imagination went, and completely obliterated the fire. The blast even shot out of the chimney's opening, crashing into the Heartless, wounding it and putting it's flames out.

Donald looked at Sora, slightly impressed, before turning back to the monster and yelling out a blizzard attack of his own.

Sora stumbled out from the chimney, slightly dizzy from the mental exertion needed to call forth the Blizzard attack he just had.. The tall Heartless faltered around a bit before crashing into the table in the midst of the room. The table split in half and collapsed atop the Heartless. Sora staggered over next to Donald and Goofy, ready to take on the Heartless should it rise from the debris. Not surprisingly, the Heartless stood up on wobbly, spindly legs and took one long step toward Sora, Donald and Goofy.

But it wasn't to last.

The beast's legs trembled and caved in from beneath it, collapsing it into a heap on the floor.

Sora allowed his legs to give way beneath him, sitting himself on the ground. The body of the monster began to glow and dissipate. A small glowing heart floated to the air and disappeared.

Sora fell backwards onto his back, hands behind his head. He stared at the ceiling they had been standing on not to long ago.

They had done it.

A yawn was heard from the doorknob just beyond his head.

"How's a doorknob to get any sleep?" It wondered and gave another large yawn. In the midst of this yawn, a glowing light came from within it's keyhole. The Keyblade, lying beside Sora, disappeared, only to reappear in the boy's hand. The blade glowed and rolled its owner's over so that Sora was lying on his stomach, the Keyblade pointing towards the doorknob. A blue beam of light shot from the tip of the Keyblade and made connection with the glowing light of the keyhole. A small "_click" _was audible.

Donald jumped, "What was that?" he demanded.

Sora blinked and sat up, "You hear that? It sounded like something closed!"

"Splendid! You're quite the hero!" the cat's voice sounded, "If you're looking for Alice, she's not here. She's gone! Off with the shadows, into darkness! Hello, goodbye!" the voice chuckled and was gone for the final time.

Sora groaned and rolled over onto his back again.

Alice was gone, kidnapped, lost to the darkness.

Just like Kairi.

"Let's go back to the Gummi Ship." Donald stated pointedly and finally, "We might find her in another world."

Sora nodded, but continued to recline on the floor, his eyes looking fixedly up at towering ceiling.

* * *

_Thus was Wonderland. Please tell me what you thought!  
Next up: Olympus Coliseum! _

_Random Trivia:_

"_Through the Looking Glass" was the original name for Alice in Wonderland.  
_"_Through the Looking Glass" is also the title for the two-part finale of Lost's Season 3.  
Amazing finale, as always._

_Cheers!  
~Mars_


	6. Olympiad

_(Touched Up as of 11/07/09)_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. Well, I own a laptop. That's about it. So, no, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. _

* * *

_**Chapter VI: Olympiad  
**We all live in suspense from day to day; in other words, you are the hero of your own story.  
~Mary McCarthy_

"Welcome to the Olympus Coliseum!" Donald declared with a sweep of his stubby arm.

Sora heard the two large oaken doors close behind them as he looked out over the field he was standing before. Two huge, golden statues of gladiators, swords crossed, stood by a small door on the other side of the expanse. Small pedestals, apparently firepits, dotted the landscape. Mammoth walls boxed in the entry field on all sides.

"It's huge!" Sora gasped at the sheer grandeur of the Coliseum.

"Most folks on this world go to watch the games here," Donald walked past, flaunting his knowledge. "Here heroes fight monsters, and sometimes even other heroes!"

Sora wondered if he might be able to take part in these games. He really could use the practice with the Keyblade if he was to use it well.

"Gawrsh, Donald, you did heaps of reading last night, didn'tcha?" Goofy grinned.

Donald snorted. "I'm just naturally smart, Goofy."

"But I coulda sworn I saw ya-"

"Let's keep moving, Sora!" Donald interrupted.

After entering the doors on the opposite side of the field, the three travelers found themselves in a elaborate stone atrium. The walls were cut smoothly from some tan brick, and trophies of all sorts sat in cases embedded in the walls. A huge stone block sat against one wall. Beside a wooden door across from them, a small, brown half-goat/half-man creature stood atop a pedestal, back turned to them. It was writing on a small board entitled, _"Rules"_.

"Good timing. Give me a hand, will ya?" The half-goat man asked without turning, pointing to the stone block, "Move that rock over there for me. I gotta spruce this place up for the games."

"Uhmm..." Sora began uncertainly, but shrugged and walked over to the stone block. He pushed and strained and exhorted all his effort, but the stone block didn't move. Didn't even budge. Who did the goat man expect to move this?

"It's way too heavy!" he gasped as he slid to the ground.

"What? Too heavy?" The goat laughed and turned around "Since when have you been such a little-"

As he caught sight of the trio, his eyes widened and he nodded his head knowingly. "Oh. Wrong guy. What're you doing here?" the goat jumped down from the pedestal and began to stamp toward Sora, Donald and Goofy, "This here's the world-famous Coliseum—Heroes only! And I got my hands full preparing for the games. So run-along, pip-squeaks." Sora took offense to being called a 'pip-squeak', while the goat continued to talk. "Look, it's like this. Heroes are coming from all over," The goat waved his arms about to emphasize his point, "to fight ferocious monsters right here in the Coliseum."

Donald crossed his arms, "You got heroes standing right in front you." he declared angrily.

Goofy placed his hands on Sora's shoulders good-naturedly, "Yup. He's a real hero chosen by the Keyblade!"

"And we're heroes, too." Donald shoehorned in, pointing at himself proudly.

"Hero?" the goat's eyebrows rose and he chuckled, "That runt?"

"What's so funny?" Sora asked angrily, "I've fought a bunch of monsters!"

"Hey, if you can't even move this..." the goat turned and pushed against the large stone block, "You can't call yourself..." he strained, "a hero! Arrgghhh!" he slid to the ground, "Okay, so it takes more than brawn. Well, let's see what you can do." he smiled a somewhat unnerving smile.

* * *

Sora panted up to the goat man, now known as Philoctetes,(or Phil for short) and leaned on his knees. Broken barrels lay strewn all about, evidence of Sora's past trials at the hands of Phil.

"You know, you ain't half-bad, kid." Phil complemented with a nod of his head, scanning the Coliseum floor.

"Heh..." Sora panted and wiped some sweat from his forehead, "Looks like I'm headed for the games."

"Afraid not." Phil stated simply.

Sora's head snapped up, "Why not?"

Phil held up two fingers, "Two Words: You guys ain't heroes."

"Uhhh..." Goofy held up four fingers, "I think that's-"

"Wanna become a real hero?" Phil interrupted. "Start by mastering this spell. It's called Thunder."

Donald perked up, having been sitting alone after being brushed off by Phil one too many times."Thunder! Watch this!" and with a cry of "_Thunder!" _from the duck, a bolt of energy shot to the ground with a crack. Phil nodded.

"Uhh...isn't that lighting, Phil?" Sora asked.

"That's beside the point!" Phil gruffly stated, "Learn that spell. But don't even think about practicing here in the arena, get outta here. Now!"

Sora nodded quickly and ran through the doors, Donald and Goofy following behind.

"That kid...a hero! Hah! _Suuuure..._" Phil chuckled to himself. "A shame he can't be in the games, though..."

* * *

As Sora sped from the Atrium and out through the door to the entrance field, he ran into something that stopped him in his tracks.

"Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say?" came a slick-sounding voice from above.

Sora stepped back and craned his head to see that he had just ran into a giant of a man. Well, almost like a man. This new person was blue-skinned with a very thin, pointed face. His hair was composed of flickering blue flames, and he wore a large black cloak. He waved down at Sora with thin, bony fingers.

"Who are you?" Donald questioned, coming through the door after Sora.

"Whoa, hold on the there, fuzz boy." the being chuckled abit, "Wait, let me guess. You want to enter the games, right?" he placed a large hand on Sora's shoulder, "Well, then, get a load of this." the blue-skinned being snapped his fingers and-in a puff of smoke- a small Games Pass appeared in his hand.

Sora gasped, "A pass?"

"It's all yours." the man turned and walked away. "Good luck, kid. I'm pulling for you, little shorty."

"Hah! Yes!" Sora fist-pumped and ran back into the Coliseum Atrium, forgetting all about practicing his new spell.

He didn't, nor did Donald or Goofy, notice the stranger's smirk and his disappearance in a puff of smoke.

* * *

"Oh yeah!" Sora exclaimed, "Already, I'm only four matches from the finals! Yes!"

"A-hyuck, you did great Sora!" Goofy gave him a slap on the back. Donald just stood by on the sidelines, having already gave his daily grumble about searching for the King.

"Well, you ain't gonna be doing anymore brawling today, kid." Phil stated matter-of-factly, "the final battles of the tournament don't happen until tomorrow."

"Awww..." Sora mumbled, "And I was just getting into it..."

Phil smirked slightly, "Kid, did I say the day was over? Hah! Fat chance. We've got training to do!"

Sora's face paled, "Uhhh...Phil, I think I've, uh, had enough-"

"Nuh-uh, the last thing you need is to be knocked off your game. So we're gonna keep ya going! Get out there and give me fifty push-ups! Now!"

Sora nodded quickly and ran out to the darkened arena to begin his repetitions. All the spectators had long ago left the stadium, just Team Sora and Phil were

"So where'd you guys find this kid?" Phil spoke quietly to Donald and Goofy, jerking his thumb to Sora.

"Well, we found him in Tr-"

Donald kicked Goofy in the knee with his webbed foot and called upon his knowledge of other worlds, "Thessaloniki, we found him in Thessaloniki."

Phil nodded knowingly, "Yeah, that little city up north. Central Macedonia, amiright?"

Donald, thanking the stars for the King's library and the books he had brought with him, nodded vehemently.

"Yeah, I guessed you guys were from up north. Definitely not from around here."

At the sound of a thud, the three creatures turned their heads to Sora, Goofy nursing his hurt knee, to see the poor boy laying flat on the dusty ground, breathing heavily.

"Watcha at kid?" Phil yelled.

"Tweny-fie" Sora mumbled into the dirt.

Phil stomped his foot, "That's nothing you wimp! Get back up and finish! Sheesh..." Sora pushed himself back up and continued onward toward his goal.

"So what're you guys doing all the way down here in Olympus?" Phil questioned.

"The games of course!" Donald answered gruffly.

"You came without passes? What a bunch of boneheads..." Phil chuckled.

Beat-red heat began to travel from Donald's feet to his zippered blue hat. He was about to charge Phil when Goofy hobbled in front of him, successfully blocking Donald's attack.

"Hahahaa...well, at least the kid got a pass, right?" Phil laughed again, "Hey...looks like he's done..." he walked over to to where Sora was again lying in the dirt. "Now give me 10 laps!"

Several hours and a multitude of pain later, evening had fallen upon the Olympus. All was silent except for the clacking of Sora's overly large shoes against the sandstone grandstands as he ran up and down, up and down, up and down. He desperately wanted to stop. He'd give anything to be able to stop this training. In all the silence he had a lot of time to think, and he found that thinking kept the pain at bay. Mostly. He initially had wondered what he was doing here. Why was he competing in these games? What had come over him to stop his search for Riku and Kairi to just be in a couple stupid tournaments? He had just about given up there when he remembered something his father had told him when he was little. Something about 'pain is weakness leaving the body'. He remembered most moments with father, as little of them that there were. A scattered playtime here, a old saying there. His father had been a great dad, for the few years he had known him. He had been the one to originally teach him how to swordfight, in fact. But one day there had been that accident out on the fishing trawler...

When he had reached that memory, Sora's mind went back to the pain in his legs. And his chest. And his feet. And his arms. And, well, pretty much everywhere.

But still, 'pain is weakness leaving the body'.

Sora gritted his teeth and kept running. He was gonna need all the weakness out of his body that he could get out. That's the mission he would accomplish in Olympus.

"Hey kid!"

Sora stopped his running and caught sight of Phil standing down on the ground. "I think it's about time to call it a night."

* * *

"Here, have a drink of this..." Phil said as he threw a wineskin filled with water to Sora.

Donald, Goofy, Phil and Sora laid spread out on the surface of the arena floor, looking up at the bright constellations that couldn't be seen from Destiny Islands or Disney Castle.

"So, kid," When Phil spoke, Sora looked up from fumbling about with the wineskin, wondering how one drinks from a bag."Your friends tell me you came from Thessaloniki," at this, Sora quirked an eyebrow at Donald, who replied with a shrug, "So you got any other reason than the games? You didn't seem ready for 'em, that's for sure."

Sora sighed, "Kinda...I'm looking for some really good friends of mine, Riku and Kairi...I—I-I lost them, and I don't know what happened to them, or if they are even okay" he turned to look back at the stars.

"Hey, sorry about that, kid. Can't say that I've met anyone going by those names though."

Silence ensued for a few moments as the four of them stared at the intricate patterns in the sky.

"Hey Phil, is there anything you're here for? Something you really want?" Sora suddenly questioned.

Phil sighed, "Yeah, I've always wanted to raise a hero. Someone that people will look at and say 'That's Phil's boy.'" he smiled sadly, "I've gone through so many duds...wannabe after wannabe who never had what it took." he shook his head and turned to Sora. "You know, the gods draw the figure of a hero in the stars." Phil pointed upwards, "See? That's Odysseus, right over there to your right. They say he sailed to the end of the world and beyond. That's the hero I want to train." Phil sighed wistfully.

"Gawrsh, you ever think you'll find him?" Goofy asked.

"I don't know anymore," Phil sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I don't even know why I'm telling you guys any of this. Must be tired." he shrugged and put his arms behind his head. "But, then again, Hercules...he's always stood a chance at being that one. A Hero if there ever was."

"Hercules? Who's he?" Sora asked.

Phil looked startled, "You must have lived under a rock to not know about the Herc!"

"Well, we've been traveling for awhile..." Donald rescued the situation.

"Okay, fine, but Herc is the biggest hero this side of Mount Olympus! He's the one you'll be fighting if you reach the finals." Phil chuckled,"Too bad he ain't here right now, though, visiting his father, y'know?"

"Well, not really. I never knew my father that well." Sora stated matter-of-factly, with a hint of sadness evident in his tone. Donald and Goofy looked at him sympathetically, having learned something about their companion that they had not known before.

"Ah...well, kid, you ain't alone." Phil offered as they went back to looking at the stars

"And you ain't half-bad, either. Hell, you may be able to beat Cloud." Phil declared after a minute of silence.

"Cloud?" Donald quacked.

"Yeah, he's the only one fighting through the tournament faster and better than you. If you keep up your pace, kid, he'll be your opponent in the semi-finals."

Sora nodded in anticipation without taking his eyes off the sky. Suddenly, one of the stars he had been watching winked out. Just gone, like that. A world eaten by the Heartless.

The solemnity of the state of the galaxy crept it's way back into Sora's heart and took up residence. If only he knew what he could do to stop the worlds from being taken by the darkness.

With that, Sora allowed the numerous stars to lull him to sleep, thoughts on whether Kairi and Riku were looking at the same stars swirling about in his mind.

* * *

The next day, Hades, god of the Underworld, turned from looking down at the little squirt.

The particular little squirt who had just won his final match before the semi-finals.

The dark god stood within the shadows of a mountain crag, overlooking the Coliseum. The Little Keyblade tyke...who would've thought he could come this far? Maybe Maleficent was right. This kid could mean trouble. He turned back to his guest.

"That little punk is your next opponent, okay? Now, don't blow it. Just take him out." Hades smashed his hands together and looked for his guest's reaction.

His guest had spiky blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a one-sleeved black jacket with a black shoulder plate over his left shoulder. Black pants fell to black boots and a black waist-cloakcovered his left leg. A huge sword was holstered at his back.

This was Cloud Strife. Mercenary extraordinaire

"The great god of the Underworld is afraid of a kid?" Cloud's narrowed his eyes, "Sorry, but my contract says-"

Hades' firey 'hair' flared up, "I know! You think I don't know? I wrote the contract!" he shoved his bony finger in Cloud's face, but the other man remained calm. "I know it says you're only required to kill Hercules in this tournament." He pointed his skeletal finger toward Sora now, "But you've gotta fight that kid to get to him." Hades' features softened into something not unlike a slick car salesman. "Look, Spikey" he rested a blue arms across Cloud's shoulders. The Mercenary twitched, but Hades wasn't sure whether it was because the nickname struck or chord, or the cold chill that must have snaked down the blonde's back. "I went through a lot of trouble to get this kid a pass and into the games. Don't blow it for me, eh?"

Cloud remained steadfast.

"Hey, it's like that old goat says, Rule 11: It's all just a game, so let loose and have fun with it!" Hades smirked, "I mean, a casualty or two along the way is no big deal, right?"

Cloud glared once at Hades and shook himself loose from the dark god's arm. Without looking back, he began to slowly make his way to the arena.

"Geez...Stiffer than the stiffs back home." Hades stroked his pointed chin, "Still...suckers like him are hard to come by..."

He looked into the cavernous opening behind him and smiled a hideous, pointed tooth smile when he heard that wonderful sound of vicious, gnashing teeth.

* * *

The crowds inhabiting the Coliseum seats roared in approval as Sora and his final opponent entered the arena.

Sora marveled at the sword that Cloud held on his back. It was nearly three or four times the size of the Keyblade and looked as deadly.

"May the best man win!" Sora yelled across the field as he brought the Keyblade into existence, bringing about gasps of surprise in those audience members who had not yet seen his previous matches.

Cloud said nothing. A slight scowl crossed his face as he reached over his shoulder and pulled his massive sword from it's leather sheaths. Sora's eyes widened as Cloud took multiple razor-sharp sword pieces from their places and secured them together into one massive sword.

Cloud smirked just slightly as Sora's surprise and charged like the speed of light. Sora saw it coming just in time and rolled out of the way. Or, better said, it would have been out of the way, had Cloud not vaulted up a Coliseum wall and brought his sword straight, pointed end down, at Sora.

Sora's eyes widened again as he saw the attack coming, but he could only step back a foot or so before Cloud's sword made contact with the ground and the rippling floor propelled Sora into the opposite wall of the Coliseum. He landed with a hard crack and slid to the ground heavily. On the edge of his mind he thought he heard the crowd's collected gasps and a cry of "C'mon kid!" from Phil on the sidelines.

Sora shook his head and stood shakily to his feet, just in time to fall to the ground again as Cloud stabbed his sword right into the wall above him, right where Sora's chest had been. As Cloud pulled his sword from the sandstone, Sora slashed the Keyblade horizontally on it's flattened side, sending Cloud and his monstrous sword tumbling in reverse. Cloud rolled backwards and slid on his feet to near the middle of the arena, catching his sword on his shoulder. He cocked his head.

"That the best you can do?"

Sora's eyes narrowed and he stumbled forward drunkenly toward Cloud, Keyblade raised high for a downward strike. Cloud simply ducked his head and brought his sword forward to catch the strike. Reaching a clash, Sora pushed downward while Cloud held his ground against the Keyblade. The crowds cheered in the background for their favorite with calls of "_Let's go, Sora!"_ or _"Squash 'im, Cloud!"_

Cloud, seemingly bored at the pointless strength match, stepped back. While Sora lost his balance on account of being deprived of his enemy, Cloud ran toward the wall behind them. Upon reaching it, he continued in his momentum and leapt at it. Then, propelling himself off it with his feet, _flew_ back at Sora, sword cocked back behind him.

"Farewell." was his solitary word as Sora looked up, only to be pummeled backwards by multiple blows.

The Keyblade Master felt his feet leave the ground and his body be mercilessly pounded upon by Cloud's massive sword. When Cloud finally finished with his beating, Sora's body continued on it's path toward one of the stone bleachers. People screamed and ran from the area the younger fighter was flying towards at high speeds.

Sora felt his body collide with the stone benches. Small pieces of rock flew off, pricking him in the back. His head spun with dizziness, his breath came labored by bruises and cracked ribs and his hands twitched about, as if electrocuted.

Cloud sighed and walked over to Sora, pointing his sword's tip down at the boy's neck.

* * *

Phil had watched the whole match, but the moment he saw Cloud hurtle off the back wall, he knew it was over.

And now, seeing Cloud ready to impale Sora to the ground, Phil turned his head to hide any tears that might come. Rarely did the games have to end in death, but Cloud seemed to have some motive to kill. The mercenary hadn't killed any of his previous opponents, so what was special about the kid?

Phil supposed it was a good thing he hadn't become too attached. Too attached. Yeah. Hmph.

Who was he kidding?

"_There goes another one."_

* * *

Cloud looked down at the boy who seemed to be lapsing in and out of consciousness.

Hades wanted him dead?

How stupid. This kid wasn't a threat. He was just a that, a kid. No more than fourteen. Only, what, a few years older than Marlene?

_Marlene..._

Cloud blinked the thought away. No, not now. He had to focus on finding _him_. He couldn't let thoughts of Marlene or Tifa or any of the others distract him.

Just a kid...Hmph. Cloud scoffed and returned his sword to his back.

Screw Hades.

* * *

Speaking of the god of the Underworld, Hades himself had been eagerly watching this match between the little squirt the mercenary stiff, but when Cloud lowered his sword from the boys' neck, Hades dropped his popcorn and leapt to his feet.

"How dare he?" he flared up, "Moron! He—He-" Hades breathed slowly in and out, calming himself. Wouldn't do to have an eruption just yet.

He looked back into the darkness of the hole behind him.

"Oh, right, there was one other rule I forgot: Accidents happen." he smirked and snapped his fingers, grinning satisfied at the deep roar that came from the cave.

* * *

When the better part of Sora's mind decided to stay in the land of the living he noticed first that there was absolutely no sound from the crowds. He then noticed Cloud pulling his sword away from Sora's neck, holstering it against his back.

Sora smiled weakly. Even though he lost the match, he was happy to be alive. Even with the mind-numbing pain he felt in his-

That was when Cloud disappeared.

Well, he didn't so much disappear as he was knocked completely from view. The man crashed into another bleacher, kicking up clouds of dust upon landing.

Sora's eyes followed the giant black paw with red-tipped nails that had swatted Cloud away like a fly. He followed them up the towering and muscled, black-furred leg. Up to the enormous torso of a huge, black dog. A huge, black _Three-Headed _dog. Huge drops of saliva fell from titanic yellowed fangs . Three pairs of glowing, red eyes surveyed about in bloodlust. The three heads jerked around viciously, as if angry at having to share a body. Three huge pink tongues slid from three cavernous mouths and licked three black lips. The dog roared.

"It's Cerberus, Guardian of the Underworld!" A random spectator screamed. The crowds followed the example and screamed their way out of the Coliseum. People ran this way and that, most likely trampling one here and there. Cerberus roared again and reared its head back, preparing to grab a mouthful of Sora, but something stopped the beast from coming down.

"Herc!" Sora faintly heard Phil yell over the crowd's screams.

"Phil, get them out of here!" a young man's voice called back. Sora looked down to Cerberus' torso and saw a man there holding the beast back. This new man had long, reddish-blonde hair, a bronze breastplate and battle skirt adorned his tanned body. A blue cape fell down his back and large muscles bulged from his arms. Could this be the Hercules that Phil had talked about before?

Sora weakly tried to move, only to send jolts of pain through his body. From a ways away he heard Donald call "Cure". The dizziness suddenly left him and he didn't twitch anymore. He felt a few bones snap back together in his chest, creating a few short bursts of pain. Though he still felt the bruises on his chest, he made a mental note to have Donald teach him that spell sometime.

Sora pulled himself to his feet and ran over to where Donald and Goofy were standing beside Phil, who was failing in his attempt to direct people safely from the stadium.

"Phil! We've gotta help Hercules!" Sora exclaimed worriedly, looking back to see that Herc had grabbed Cloud's unconscious body and slung it over his shoulder.

"Kid, it's good to see you alive, but I think Herc can handle it!" Phil yelled over the din, a look of uncertainty passing over his face. That was all Sora needed."But then again..."

Sora nodded, "C'mon Donald! Goofy! We gotta help Hercules!" Goofy nodded immediately, but Donald looked unsure, glancing back to the relative safety outside the stadium.

Sora knew they didn't have time for this. "Look, Donald, I know you just want to find your King, but we gotta help these people!" Sora pointed around, "Don't you see? When you see someone who needs help and don't help them, it's just as bad as if you were the one causing pain!"

Donald thought about that for a moment, and finally called his staff into appearance.

Sora smiled faintly, "Thanks, Mom..." he mumbled to himself.

"Let's do this!" Donald quacked angrily and charged toward Cerberus, Goofy and Sora following behind.

As the trio got closer, Cerberus sensed their approach and turned it's attention from Hercules to the three newcomers.

"Hercules! Sora yelled, "Get Cloud out of here and help the others! We got this!" Hercules looked confusedly at Sora and his two companions before nodding and carrying Cloud out of the stadium.

Sora heard Phil yell over the cacophony of noise, "Kid, I got two words of advice for you: Attack!"

The Keyblade Master nodded and looked upon the massive dog in full The beast stood before him, a proudly showing a long gash across it's chest, leaking purple blood. Sora guessed that Hercules had caused that. Giving no time for strategy, Cerberus reared back and all three heads belched forth an oozing dark substance that burned away at the stone of the bleachers and sand of the floor. Donald shot off a blast of blizzard at one of the heads before backing cautiously up from the pools of darkness. Cerberus then leaned back on it's hind legs and leapt over the darkness it had spewed, directly towards the three travelers.

Quickly, they scattered; all in different directions. Sora found himself behind Ceberus and, while Donald and Goofy were dealing with the heads, Sora found himself having to dodge the rapidly flicking tail. Up, down, left, right. Sometimes trying to block it with the Keyblade, only to be knocked back. One particular blow caught him in the torso and lifted him off the ground, but instead of being thrown off, Sora dissipated the Keyblade and held on tightly. Cerberus, obviously feeling something hanging onto it's tail, started to whip it around even more than before. Sora briefly remembered watching rodeo cowboys back home do something similar to this. He had always wondered what it was like. Before he knew it, the bucking had overcome him and he was thrown high up in the air, landing hard on Cerberus' back.

Coming to his senses, and realizing the good position he was in, Sora called the Keyblade to his hands and gave a few slashes at the dog's back while Donald and Goofy continued to attack from the front.

Cerberus roared and started to run about wildly, crashing into walls and destroying bleachers. Sora was only able to hold on at all due to the tight grip he had on the fur around the dog's middle neck. From this point, Sora suddenly noticed a young man who hadn't yet left the stadium. In fact, he seemed to be huddled, scared to death in the corner of the arena. Sora also noticed that Cerberus was heading right for the man.

Not knowing what else to do, Sora took the Keyblade and reached it across the dog's neck, it's tip just reaching the other side, just enough that he could grab it with his left hand.

They were getting closer now, and Cerberus was still seizing around as madly as ever.

After getting a good grip, Sora braced himself with his legs and pulled back as hard as he could against the neck. He heard the roar of middle head catch and it began to choke, rearing back. Sora continued to pull back with all his strength, but he knew he wouldn't be able to keep the pressure up for long. The middle head, seeming to be the dominant one, pulled back from the strain and rumbled off in a different direction, this time toward Donald and Goofy. Sora lost sight of the man, but at least he was safe for now.

With Cerberus lumbering toward Donald and Goofy, Sora felt an idea come upon him. He continued to pull back with the Keyblade, even beginning to heat it up a bit with some small amounts of fire magic. He attempted to focus all the heat near the middle of the Keyblade, the part pressing against Cerberus' throat. The two other heads of Cerberus roared, obviously feeling the burning pain of the middle one, and the whole body reared back, leaving the chest wound out in the open, right in front of Donald and Goofy.

Sora only hoped Donald took the initiative.

When Sora heard the cry of "Thunder!" from the duck, he knew he had.

Ceberus screamed a high pitched whine and, losing balance, tumbled over backwards. Sora barely had time to release his grip and jump from the falling body before being crushed. Luckily, he made it, landing heavily on his left side.

Ceberus pulled itself to it's feet, still whining, and stumbled toward the north Coliseum wall, attempting to make a leap over. It successfully made it over, but pulled a few layers of the stone wall down with it as it passed.

Sora wiped a sandy arm across his forehead and rubbed his bruised chest tenderly.

Well, that had been fun. He couldn't wait to tell everyone he had been in a giant's rodeo.

* * *

Sora, Donald and Goofy all stood before Phil and Hercules, the latter with arms crossed, head nodding with approval to everything Phil was saying.

"Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes," Phil read from a sheet of paper in his hands, "And confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Furthermo-"

Donald jumped and quacked angrily, "Hey! What do you mean, 'junior heroes'?"

Phil waved the duck off, "You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero."

"So, uh, what does it take?" Goofy wondered aloud.

Hercules smiled warmly, "Well, that's just something you'll have to find out for yourselves. Just the way that I did."

Sora nodded, "Well, Phil, we'll just start by moving that pedestal."

Phil laughed, "Hah! Kid, no matter how many times you luck into beating Cerberus, you still won't be—" Phil's jaw dropped as he watched not just Sora, but Donald and Goofy too, push against the large stone block. A wide smile crossed Hercules' face as they did, indeed, move it to the corner of the room.

Sora turned back to Phil and Hercules, "How's that?" he smiled triumphantly, "Teamwo-" he trailed off as he saw Phil and Hercules looking past him. "What? What is it?" he asked.

Phil pointed, "What's that?"

Sora turned and saw a small keyhole glowing on the floor beneath where the stone block used to be. The Keyblade abruptly appeared in his hand and pulled his arm forward. Then, just as in Wonderland, a small beam of light protruded from the tip of the blade and made contact with the keyhole. And again, another small _"click" _was heard.

"What WAS that?" Hercules questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"We still don't know..." Sora shook his head in confusion.

"Hmmmm...come to think of it, that pedestal has always been there for as long as I can remember..." Phil spoke thoughtfully, "But that doesn't matter. Kid, if you think being a hero is moving some rocks around, you're still a long ways off."

Sora nodded again, "Okay...we'll be back though, one day, and maybe we'll be heroes by then."

With that, Sora and friends waved goodbye and left the Atrium of the Coliseum.

* * *

"I still can't believe that squirt actually beat Cerberus..." Phil shook his head after Sora had left.

Hercules smiled and and the two of them ambled toward the Arena to begin cleaning up.

"Just between us," he said, "I'd already worn Cerberus down by the time the little guy jumped in."

"My lips are sealed." Phil chuckled, "But still...I think there may be something to that kid..."

* * *

Sora was busy chatting amiably with Donald and Goofy when Donald pointed out that someone was sitting on the steps leading out of the Coliseum. Someone they knew.

Cloud.

"Hey...you alright?" Sora asked unsuredly. The man had his head down, staring intently at the ground. Cloud certainly didn't seem the type to appreciate someone asking about his feelings, and Sora wondered if he had made a wrong move.

"Yeah." Cloud replied simply.

"So why did you go along with Hades, anyway?" Sora questioned, gaining a small bit of bravery. He, Hercules and Phil had been told about Hades' plan by Cloud. Hercules had filled them in on who Hades was: The Olympic God of the Underworld, and antithesis to Hercules father, Zeus.

Cloud rested his chin on a fist, "I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help." he said as he stood to his feet.

Sora waited for the black-outfitted man to continue.

"I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired." Cloud looked up at the clear, blue sky. "I fell into darkness, and I couldn't find the light."

Sora smiled, "You'll find it," he said confidently, "I'm searching too."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "For your light?"

Sora thought about this for a minute. His light? Was he looking for his light? What he was looking for Riku and—Kairi.

Kairi.

Kairi was his light.

Sora didn't know for sure how or why he knew this, or why his face felt warm at the thought, but Kairi was his light.

He was searching for his light. Just like Cloud. Just like everyone. Everyone was searching for their, or maybe it was the?, light.

He nodded.

Cloud slightly inclined his head in something that a very positive person might loosely interpret as a nod of acknowledgment.

"Don't lose sight of it." he warned and pushed past Sora, Donald and Goofy.

"Hey! How about rematch sometime? No dark powers involved!" Sora offered excitedly.

Cloud stopped and pushed some of his spiky hair from his face.

"Think I'll pass." he said, then disappeared through a door to the left of the atrium.

Sora turned back to the exit, and back to searching for his light.

* * *

"He's strong, he's kind. He's always there for you. And he's handsome to boot. He's perfect. Perfect. Perfectly Infuriating!" Hades crushed the small statuette of Hercules in between his hands. "He make me crazy!"

The Olympic God exploded into a pillar of fire as he screamed. After the heat cooled down, he leaned back in his Underworld throne and looked around at the dark and blank atmosphere. He inhaled the smell of rotting flesh and continued talking to himself. "Wait, wait, What're you worried about? All the pieces are in place. Relax...Here's what you do. Let Hercules train the kid!" his voice took on an excited tone, "In the next games, you'll take care of them both!" he smirked, but sensed another presence in his throneroom. He looked over into the shadows to his right."Who invited you to the party?"

In the shadows, a glowing green tipped staff illuminated yellow eyes surrounded by a pale, white face.

It was her.

"Stay out of this. This is my show." Hades stated firmly.

The woman in the shadows was silent for a moment.

"As you wish." she spoke calmly, "Fight to your heart's content."

Hades nodded agreeably as the woman in black disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

_Thessaloniki is an actual city in Greece, believe it or not. Little geography lesson for y'all.  
__Also, I know Cloud wasn't wearing his FFAC clothes in KH1, but I disliked the way his clothes were so close to Vincent's...so I changed it.  
__I also know that they didn't lock the Coliseum Keyhole until later, but for the sake of this being smooth, they locked it now._

_Hope you enjoyed!  
~__Mars_

_P.S. Go. Now. And check out "Organize This" on YouTube. __It's a 5-part flash-animation on Organization XIII, and it's incredibly funny.  
__Go, you'll be glad you did._

_******EDITED NOTE:**_


	7. A Rumble in the Jungle

_(Touched Up As Of 12/27/09)_

_Disclaimer: I can't speak or read Japanese, thus I am not Tetsuya Nomura, thus, I do not own Kingdom Hearts_

* * *

-_**Chapter VII: Rumble in the Jungle  
**__~Two are better than one...if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls~  
__and has no one to help him up.  
__~Ecclesiastes 4:9a-10 -_

Sora turned over in bed, rubbing his tired eyes. He had been woken at, he checked the clock, six in the morning by an extremely powerful and potent enemy. It floated above him in temptation, demanding Sora leave the warm comfort of his bed and purge the monster within.

The monster? Hunger.

The floating enemy? The ever-so-delicious scent of cooked bacon.

Sora smiled gleefully and stumbled from his room. There was a monster that needed slaying. As he walked he pulled on his huge, yellow shoes to protect from the cold metal floor of the Gummi Ship. In the part of his mind not taken up by thought of crunchy bacon, Sora wondered, like he did nearly every morning, why he kept those shoes. Nobody liked them. His friends didn't like them, Riku and Kairi didn't like, _he _didn't even like them. But, just as every morning before as well, Sora was far to occupied with food to remember anything about his shoe qualms.

When he reached the kitchen-from whence the smell had originated—Sora caught sight of the short form of Donald overlooking the sizzling bacon on the stove. The duck was talking to himself.

"No! I'm sure this is how you cook bacon, you big palooka!" he stated angrily and glared at his zippered mage hat, which was sitting on the counter beside him. After a moment, he amended the insult. "Little palooka!" he angrily turned back to the frying pan.

"Uhm...Donald?" Sora stood awkwardly at the entryway, watching Donald carefully.

"Sora! Tell Jiminy this is how you cook bacon! Tell him!" Donald quacked.

"Jiminy? Who's Jiminy?"

Donald stopped his angry quacking, "We never introduced you to Jiminy? How did Goofy forget?"

"You forgot too, Donald." came a small, calm voice from Donald's hat.

Sora stepped closer and noticed that there was a small cricket standing atop Donald's hat, and a rather smartly-dressed cricket at that.

"Jiminy Cricket's the name!" the cricket introduced happily, "A pleasure to meet you, Sora!"

Sora reached out his hand in a friendly manner, but returned it after realizing Jiminy couldn't shake it. "I'm Sora."

"I know." Jiminy said with a wink.

Donald pointed a spatula at Jiminy accusingly, "This stupid cricket is telling me that I'm cooking bacon wrong!"

Sora peeked over Donald's shoulder,"No, wait, I think Jiminy's right. You don't want to have the temperature that high or else-" Sora was interrupted by a raindrop of bacon grease that flew from the overheated pan and hit Donald square in the eye.

"Waah!" Donald screamed as he crashed backwards off the stool, narrowly missing Sora.

"See? I told you it was a bad idea." Jiminy scolded from his place on Donald's hat.

Donald scowled and rubbed his eye, "Bah, what does a cricket know..."

"I'd say quite a lot apparen-" Jiminy began.

"Donald? Could you teach me how to do that 'cure' spell now?" Sora interrupted, knowing that the previous conversation had been headed to disaster long before he had entered the kitchen.

Plus, he really wanted to know that spell.

Donald perked up, bacon-y problems completely forgotten. "Cure? You want to learn cure?" he scoffed and dusted his jacket."Hah! You do know that Cure is one of the most difficult spells to handle?"

"I can handle it." Sora affirmed.

Donald smirked haughtily, "Alright then, let me show you." Donald sat back down on his stool, "Cure takes a lot more energy out of you than any other spell, especially if you are using it on yourself." he spoke proudly, as if teaching a class of the ignorant. "So only use it when you absolutely positively need to." Sora nodded, and Donald continued. "To use it, you simply think of wonderful thoughts that make you feel better and send it to your weapon."

"I think I get it.."

Donald smirked, "Well, I think we should make sure."

"What'd you mean-" In one swift motion Donald jumped from the stool and smacked Sora in his head with his wand. Sora dropped to the ground.

"Donald!" Jiminy exclaimed. "You just..."

"I did."

"But...but why?"

"An object lesson, Jiminy."

"But..." Jiminy shook his head unconvinced.

"Oh, grow up. He'll be fine."

Sora rubbed his head and pushed himself to a sitting position. "What the heck, Donald!" Sora looked at his fingers, revealing blood. "You cut me!"

Donald sighed. "Object lesson. Cure!"

Sora felt a slight pinch and, when he reached up to touch the small wound, he felt no blood.

"So what makes it so difficult?" Sora asked, rubbing the place where the wound used to be.

"Because it's tough for some people to concentrate when hurt." Donald spoke as if it was a silly notion to be distracted when wounded. "And to heal someone, it takes a lot of energy. But for a mage like me-" Donald didn't get to finish, because more bacon grease shot from the pan and splashed on the back of his feathered head.

"WAAAH!" Donald yelled again, furiously rubbing his head in pain.

"Gawrsh, you fellas are really loud!" Goofy yawned as he entered the kitchen from the hallway, "G'mornin' Donald, whatcha doin' on the floor?"

Donald grumbled unintelligibly.

"'Morning Goofy." Sora greeted.

"G'mornin' Sora!" Goofy returned, "Hey Donald? I think saw another world a'comin up outside—-"

Donald jumped to his feet and ran down the hall, pushing Goofy out of the way. Sora grabbed a piece of bacon and ran after the duck.

"G'mornin' Jiminy!" Goofy smiled at the cricket. "Ooh, look! Bacon!"

"Looks like a massive rain forest..." Sora assessed, wiping his greasy hands on his pant leg. The world they looked upon as definitely covered in green.

"Hey Donald, maybe King Mickey's down there!" Goofy optimistically suggested as he entered with a piece of bacon in one hand and Jiminy in the other, placing the latter down on the dashboard.

"In a backwater place like that? No way!" Donald shrugged the world off, "Let's move on."

"Hold on!" Sora broke in, "Maybe Riku and Kairi are down there! Let's just check it out."

Donald balked, "Forget it! We're on an important mission!"

"And I'm trying to find my friends! Just land!" Sora said.

"NO!" Donald angrily held fast. Sora ignored him and reached for the the imprecise teleporter latched next to the wheel. Donald realized what Sora was doing just a few seconds late and, before he could react, Sora had his finger poised over the red "Activate" button.

"Sora, I wouldn'-" Goofy raised his hand in warning.

Sora paid Goofy no heed and pressed the button anyway.

"Aw, phooey!" Donald's eye's widened before all three disappeared.

* * *

"Oww...my head..." Sora groaned as he looked far above him, past crisscrossed wooden support beams, to the hole he had made on his downward descent. The teleporter, without proper tweaking, had apparently dropped him a few feet above the old building he was in. Rotten wood must've broken his fall.

He had landed in a large, single room. Green vines and moss encroached upon old, rotting wood. Barrels and crates filled with untouched who-knows-what were scattered around in the rather spacious room. Sunlight came scattered in through dusty, cobwebbed windows.

"Donald? Goofy?" Sora rubbed his aching head as he looked around. Had the two of them fallen with him? Or was he now alone? The thought frightened him slightly, but maybe it was for the better if Donald and Goofy didn't want to help him find his friends in return for...whatever they wanted him to do. Beyond helping them find their King, he wasn't really sure what he was supposed to be doing. Sora's thoughts were interrupted suddenly by a creaking behind him. He turned just in time for a huge, white paw to swat him into one of the decrepit walls. He felt the wall give way upon impact, and he tumbled backward over a ledge. Apparently he had crash landed into a large tree house, a tree house that sat perched in between two mammoth branches of a gigantic tree, dizzyingly high above the ground. As he started to fall, Sora grabbed the ledge with one gloved hand, stopping himself from falling to his death far below.

Sora grabbed with his other hand and began to hoist himself high enough that he was able to rest on his elbows, ignoring the pounding in his head from both the original fall and his impending doom.

Having pulled himself high enough to get a good view, Sora realized that he had some problems. Right in front of him, looking him straight in the eye, was a large leopard, tongue flicking between it's sharp, jagged teeth. A long tail flicked wildly behind it and it's eyes glowed in a red bloodlust. Sora's vision strained and blurred. The leopard growled softly.

Sora squinted through his pounding headache, feet still dangling over the edge. Was it raising it's paw?

Abruptly, the yellows and blacks of the Leopard were replaced by dark tans and browns. Sora then simply saw the Treehouse ahead of him, shifting in and out of focus. He heard a short whine, and then the sound of scurrying paws.

A few uneven thuds of walking later, swift, strong arms reached around him and pulled him up from his precarious perch, dropping him unceremoniously to the ground. From his place on the floorboards at the edge of the treehouse, Sora wondered if now might be a good time to use Cure. He quickly decided against it though, not wanting to waste his already spinning mind.

A rough, broken voice stuttered, "Sabor. Danger."

Sora squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing them in an attempt to clear them. Had that leopard been named Sabor?

"Umm...thank you?" Sora blinked away more dizziness as he looked up to see who had scared the Leopard, or Sabor apparently, away.

A very tanned and muscled man stood hunched over Sora, blue eyes studying him closely. The man wore nothing but a brown loincloth, and long dark brown dreadlocks fell about his face.

"Thank...you..." the man copied Sora, albeit in a broken way.

"Huh? Uh.." Sora gestured around him to get his point across. "What is this place?"

The man walked right up into Sora's face and tilted his head. His breath smelled of bananas. "This place. This place." he repeated.

"Okay..." Sora began to wonder what was wrong with this guy, "Where did the others go?" he tried asking about Donald and Goofy.

The man stared at him blankly.

Sora sighed, "Look, I got separated from my friends. Have you seen them?"

The man just continued to stare.

"Fri-end-s" Sora spelled out, placing his hand over his heart, "My fri-end-s"

The odd man placed a hand against his heavily muscled chest, "Fri-end-s" he repeated.

Sora nodded emphatically, "Right! My friends! There's two of them," he held up two fingers, just to be sure the man got the message, "The loud one is Dona-"

Wait.

Why was he looking for Donald and Goofy? Riku and Kairi were his friends! Donald and Goofy didn't even really want to look for the two of them. Donald and Goofy could look for their King forever, Sora still just wanted to find Kairi and Riku. His real friends.

The man cocked his head at Sora's abrupt stop.

"You know what? Nevermind." Sora sighed, "I'm looking for my friends, Riku and Kairi." Sora spoke each word carefully, hoping to get the message to this apparently speech-challenged man.

The man grunted, "Look for Riku, friends? Kairi, friends?"

"Right-" Sora again stopped short when he briefly noticed a flash of red hair over the man's shoulder. He pushed past the man and ran inside the house. He looked around wildly for the person who had the red hair. It couldn't be her. Was it really that easy? Sora stopped short when he caught sight of her standing nonchalantly beside a pile of boxes, hands intertwined cutely behind her back. Sora's heart skipped a beat. It was Kairi. He stood still for a moment, drinking in the sight, eyes wide. She was here. She was alive. She didn't even look injured! Time slowed, and Sora took a cautious step forward, even though his heart was screaming for him to run to her and grab her in a hug, no matter how weird that may've been back on the Islands.

Sora closed his eye and swallowed. He opened them, almost prepared for her to be gone, but there she stood. Still fine. Still okay. Still there with him so he wasn't alone anymore. The only odd thing was that she seemed to have a slight glow silhouetting her frame. It wasn't much different than normal, though, Sora decided. She had always seemed to glow to him, especially in recent months.

Not that he lov—liked her or anything, that's just the way it always was.

As he stood gawking, Kairi smiled kindly at him, turned and walked behind the boxes.

"Sora, you're so weird." she said, speaking as if the Islands hadn't been destroyed and she and Riku hadn't disappeared. Speaking as if nothing had changed.

"_Sora...don't ever change"_

Snapping out of his trance, Sora ran to where she had been standing. Desperate to get another glimpse of her. Desperate to know that she hadn't left. He slid to a stop and looked behind the boxes. Nothing. Nothing but a dead end wall.

Sora jerked his head back and forth, looking desperately at all points of the room. No. Not again. No. Kairi was not gone again. She couldn't be. No way. She...she couldn't be...

Sora sighed heavily. He just wanted Kairi back. He wanted Riku back. He hated this. Why was Kairi gone? Again. He put his palms to his forehead and pushed hard to ward off the headache that had returned, momentarily staved off by Kairi's appearance.

He also pushed back any tears that might arise and attempt to escape his eyes.

He sighed again. At least he knew she was okay. She was there, alive and well. She must've been teleported or something.

Unless, of course, he had been seeing things. He had hit his head pretty hard.

Sora promised Kairi then and there that he would find her and everything would be okay again.

"Friends here." the forgotten man suddenly spoke up from behind.

Sora whipped around, "Really!"

Maybe they were here! He had just seen Kairi, maybe Riku was here! Just maybe Kairi _was_here!

The man made a few guttural noises that sounded quite close to an ape, "Friends here." he then repeated the deep-throated noises.

"Errrr...not sure I understand, but take me to my friends! Take me to Riku and Kairi!" Sora smiled, headache now gone for good.

The man put both his hands to his chest, pointing to himself, "Tarzan." he declared, "Tarzan go."

Sora pointed to himself in turn, "And I'm Sora. Let's go to Kairi and Riku!"

Tarzan nodded and gestured for Sora to follow him out the door of the treehouse. There, the young Keyblade Master got his first real glimpse of this world.

Huge green trees stood tall and proud beneath a glorious bright sun, warming this world to a temperature even hotter and more humid than the Islands. A wispy mist slightly obscured the view from the treehouse, but Sora could just catch a glimpse of an ocean stirring gently a few miles away, stretching out to meet the cloudless blue sky above. The treehouse, the likes of which he and his friends had never built on the Islands,(But the type he and Riku had secretly always dreamed about) was indeed built into a mammoth tree, even larger than Sora had previously thought. The tree stood high above the jungle canopy, allowing for far, unhindered sight for many a mile. In the distance below, Sora heard a few birds and animals call.

"Deep Jungle." Tarzan grunted as he moved onto a downward path built into the tree's branches and trunk, gesturing for Sora to follow.

* * *

Goofy looked worriedly at the bamboo thickets that grew large and imposing around the clearing that he and Donald had landed in. His large eyes fell to the small, red piece of Gummi Block in his hand. Donald had guessed it must have been from the King's ship, but oddly still refused to admit that Sora had been right to check out every world they came to. They had found the small thing simply lying on the ground, as if left behind. Perhaps on purpose?

"Gawrsh, where are we?" Goofy wondered as Donald relaxed lazily beside him. "I sure hope Sora's okay..."

Donald grunted and sat up, "Aw, who needs him? We can find the King without him." he declared, scowling with arms crossed.

Suddenly, there was a severe rustling of the bamboo underbrush. The grove in front of Goofy parted and out stepped a tall, well muscled man with an angular face. A small mustache sat above a frowning mouth and slicked back, brown hair decked his head. He looked like a hunter, with tan hunting coat and safari gear hanging from his belt. And, most importantly, the man held a double-barreled shotgun in his hands.

The man raised his eyebrows and blinked at the two creatures in front of him.

Donald and Goofy gulped.

* * *

The tent Tarzan led Sora to was placed in a small clearing, surrounded by crates and tables and all manner of traveling equipment.

Inside the tent, a large map covered most of one of the walls, a few cushioned chairs sat to one side with two small tables beside them. Two lanterns lit the inside of the tent. A young woman with long brown hair and plain clothing stood leaning over a projector. She appeared to be tinkering with it.

"Jane." Tarzan said simply.

"Oh, Tarzan!" the woman smiled as she turned around and caught sight of Sora, "And who's this?"

"Uh, I'm Sora-" the Keybearer began to introduce himself.

"Oh! You speak English!" The woman, who's name was apparently Jane, interrupted curiously, "So, then, obviously, you're not related to Tarzan..."

Sora looked down at Tarzan, sitting hunched over on the ground. He just stared back.

"So are you here to study the Gorillas?" Jane cocked her head.

"Highly doubtful." a new, deep and congested sounding voice came from the tent's entrance. Jane's blue eyes twitched just slightly at the sound of the voice.

Sora turned to see a large man with an angular face enter, trailed by Donald and Goofy.

"Donald! Goofy!" Sora smiled wide.

"Sora!" Goofy happily greeted. Donald grunted in acknowledgment.

Sora crossed his arms and grunted back, reminded of their earlier argument. He wondered if Donald was ready to leave already.

The man shrugged and turned to walk out of the tent, "I found these strange creatures out in the Jungle. I was close to shooting them until the shorter one talked. Almost shot then too." he cleared his throat. "Apparently just a circus of clowns. Not much use for hunting gorillas."

Everyone turned to find Jane studying Goofy closely with a magnifying glass. She spoke quietly, distracted by these two new creatures. "We're studying them, not hunting them, Mr. Clayton. This is research." By this time, the hunter, Clayton, had long left, not that Jane had noticed. She moved her studies over to Donald, who quickly stepped away. "This is fascinating...I cannot wait to tell Daddy about this...perhaps I'll publish an article"

"Stop poking me!" Donald angrily pushed Jane away.

She smiled, unfazed. "So, do you have a name?"

Donald didn't reply, so Goofy spoke up. "I'm Goofy, ma'am, and this here is Donald." he chuckled. "He's kinda grumpy."

"Well," Jane curtsied formally, "I'm Jane. I'm pleased to meet such creatures as yourselves. Please, if you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask." she smiled once again and retreated to the table. Grabbing a piece of paper, she started to jot things down, looking up every now and then to refresh herself with Donald and Goofy's appearance.

"Well anyway..." Sora began

"I'm staying!" he and Donald said at the same time.

Sora started and looked down at Donald, "Huh?" He wondered why Donald was staying when he was so insistent before that they pass this world by.

Goofy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, red block, "Sora, look what we found. Look at this."

"What's that?" Sora asked, looking at the small object in Goofy's cupped hands.

"A Gummi Block!" Goofy declared, "It's the same stuff used to build our ship."

"So that means..." Sora trailed off.

"The King could be here." Donald finished impatiently, "So, we've gotta work together to look for him," he spoke as if in pain. "For now."

Sora frowned, "Fine. I'll let you tag along. For now."

Goofy sighed and tucked the Gummi Block back into his pocket.

Sora turned, "Jane? I'm looking for two friends of mine. Tarzan said that he knew where they were. Do you have any ideas how we can find out?"

Jane looked up hurriedly from her paper, "Well, I suppose we could show Tarzan some slides and see if they show a place that Tarzan recognizes as having to do with your friends...You see, Tarzan was raised in the jungle with the Gorillas, so he knows much more about this jungle then we ever could."

Sora was willing to try anything, "Yes, please, let's try that!"

Jane nodded and pulled some slides off a small table and turned the lanterns off. She carefully asked Tarzan if he would tell them if he recognized any of the things in the slides as having to do with Sora's friends.

As Sora watched in anticipation, he felt a shiver go up his spine at the sight of one of the slides. It was a picture of a monstrous and imposing castle, towering high into the sky. It was like no castle Sora had ever seen. It was tall, but looked off-balance. . Gravity seemed to be defied by the ramparts and towers and a a small lift system seemed to snake around the outside walls.

But why was this familiar? Why did his chest warm, but spine shiver, at the sight? He had never been off his Islands, so how did he recognize this off-kilter castle?

Jane showed Tarzan quite a few more slides, but if you were to ask Sora what they had been pictures of, he could not have told you. All he could think about was that one slide of the Castle.

Presently, Sora realized that Jane had turned off the projector and looked to Tarzan who shook his head.

Sora sighed. Tarzan hadn't recognized any of those places. He was back at having no idea on how to find Riku and Kairi.

"Well, that only leaves one place." Clayton said, having silently entered at some point during the slideshow.

Sora raised his head and looked hopefully at the man who seemed to be the brawn of this Jungle expedition.

"Young man, we've been in this jungle for some time now. But we have yet to encounter these friends of yours." Clayton turned and pointed to Tarzan, "If they are indeed here, I'd wager they're with the gorillas. But Tarzan refuses to take us to them."

"Really, Mr. Clayton. Tarzan wouldn't hide-"

Clayton walked over, past Jane, and stood above Tarzan's crouched form.

"Then take us there! Take us to the Gorillas! Go-ril-las." he pronounced, rolling his r's.

Tarzan swiveled his head to Sora and stared at him, as if trying to read the boy's honesty.

Sora begged him with his eyes to take them to the Gorillas. To take him to Riku and Kairi, if they were indeed here.

Tarzan stared back for a moment or two, then nodded.

"Tarzan go see Kerchak." he spoke in broken English.

"Tarzan are you sure? Who is Kerhcak?" Jane questioned worriedly.

Clayton nodded, "He must be the leader. Perfect. I'll go along as an escort." the hunter smiled, "After all...the Jungle is a dangerous place..."

* * *

Sora grunted as he landed on the opposite side of a rushing river, having just swung across the waters on a thin vine rope. Tall tropical trees grew sturdy and large all around him, each draping their own sets of vine, like masses of spider-webbing. Extensive areas of clumped, thick grass stood firm ahead of the small group.

Clayton, who was leading the way, was cutting down the grass viciously. Sora supposed the man was on a high. Sabor had attacked the group briefly, but had been scared off by Clayton. Sora was unsure whether the shots had killed the creature or not, but Clayton had seemed excited just to be shooting at something.

The group came to a sudden halt when Tarzan held up his hand in a gesture that clearly meant for everyone to stop moving.

Clayton's eyes seemed to brighten, "What is it?"

Tarzan didn't answer and moved forward, sniffing the air. Sora strained to hear anything different than the typical jungle noises they had heard for the last two hours: birds, bugs, animals. The occasional grumble from Donald.

Tarzan gestured them forward slowly, "Here. Wait." he grunted as he disappeared beyond a large bush. Sora, Donald and Goofy got as close as they could, hoping to see what would happen. Clayton scowled at Tarzan's disappearance, but joined them nonetheless.

Beyond the bush, Sora saw a huge area of trees, each with small pads of leaves spread out over the branches. A great many gorillas sat in the tree on the nests of leaves. Others milled about on the ground. Sora heard Clayton's breath quicken beside him.

As soon as a single gorilla caught sight of Tarzan, the entire group scattered to the trees. All except one huge, black, muscular one. Sora supposed that was Kerchak.

Tarzan began grunting toward Kerchak in what Sora could only assume was gorilla-speak. He wondered what Tarzan was saying as he gestured toward those standing behind the bush. Sora thought Tarzan sounded almost desperate.

Kerchak looked on in impassivity until Tarzan was finished, then he picked himself up, gave Tarzan and the bush a disdainful look, and disappeared into the jungle. The rest of the gorillas disappeared from the trees and followed him into the foliage as well.

Tarzan crumpled to the ground in defeat. Kerchak had apparently refused.

Sora looked sadly to the ground and sighed. Another dead end. No Riku, no Kairi. Again. Why? Why couldn't he have a break? Why couldn't he just find them? Kairi was here! He had seen her earlier, hadn't he?

Sora soon found himself looking at Tarzan's bare feet, standing in front of him. He pulled his eyes up to Tarzan's apologizing eyes.

"Well, that was quite the waste of time..." Clayton mumbled to himself and ran his hands up and down his shotgun impatiently.

"Is...is there anywhere else Kerchak could be going?" Sora asked with one last thread of hope.

Tarzan sighed, "Kerchak go house in tree." Clayton stopped his movement.

Sora looked up. The treehouse. That was where he had seen Kairi!

"Tarzan, please! Can you take us to the treehouse? Just this once, just once more! I need to be sure!"

Donald began to say something, but Tarzan held up his hand and nodded to Sora.

"Thank you." Sora sighed.

"Hey, fellas...where's Mr. Clayton?" Goofy looked around curiously.

Sora scanned the area. Goofy was right.

Clayton was gone.

"Clayton go." Tarzan growled and ran off into the forest, the trio following him close behind.

* * *

Clayton looked down the length of his double-barreled shotgun. His only partner in his quest. Over the years the shotgun had become an extension of himself. He could probably fire it in his sleep and hit whatever he wished.

And, at this moment, it was a young gorilla in his sites.

A devilish little thing to be sure, strange pointed hair, odd coloring, playing about with a globe...

Not as exciting as shooting a adult, but this would do for now. Maybe that leopard would come back sometime. He knew that would be a good hunt.

Clayton smiled and trained the shotgun directly on the poor piece of meat's head.

For the hunt, he toasted.

He smiled and pushed gently on the trigger.

But then something exploded to his left and the hunter was thrown back against the railing, his shot going wide.

What the devil was this?

"What's the big idea?" Donald yelled at the now-surprised hunter, sprawled against the treehouse railing. A destroyed and smoking box to the left showed signs of being struck by a Thunder attack.

The small little gorilla, quite scared, had scurried behind the muscled leg of the newly arrived Kerchak.

"Kerchak!" Tarzan yelled again, and hurriedly ran toward the balcony of the treehouse where the gorilla king stood.

Sora looked angrily at Clayton, along with Donald and Goofy. If the hunter had ruined any possible chance to find Riku or Kairi on account of having to kill a gorilla, so help him...

Suddenly, Tarzan's grunted gorilla-speak halted and he returned to the outer-porch of the treehouse. He grabbed Clayton around the throat and pushed him forcefully against the railing.

"What you do!" he bit out brokenly.

Sora started forward. He couldn't let Tarzan just kill the man. "Uhh...Tarzan..." Tarzan silenced him with the palm of his hand.

Clayton's eyes flitted nervously, "You don't understand! I was only trying to..." the man choked a little, "Ah, a—a snake slithered b-by, you see. I-I-I saved that p-poor gorilla's life!"

Tarzan looked darkly at him, and pushed a little harder, upper lip quivering. Clayton eyes widened and he began to claw at Tarzan's muscled arm.

Finally, the ape man relaxed and threw Clayton across the porch and into a pile of crates inside the treehouse. Sora sighed. As much as Clayton may have just ruined his chances of finding Riku and Kari, he was relieved that Tarzan hadn't murdered him.

Not a moment later, Tarzan was tackled to the ground by the spotted form of Sabor the leopard. A strangled gasp broke from Tarzan as he held the beast's head back with his bare hands, whilst his throat was crushed by Sabor's paw. A paw, heavily dyed dark red, with a small scabbed-over hole just visible among the maroon fur.

Sora called the Keyblade to his hands, but Goofy was quicker and had already thrown his shield toward the leopard. It made contact with a hard 'thunk' and Sabor was tossed back heavily against the railing. Donald next called down a thunder attack, but Sabor was too quick and moved out of the way, jumping toward Sora. Sora slashed quickly, hitting his mark against the resilient beast, knocking it into the treehouse with a crash. Inside the treehouse, the large, discharging crack of Clayton's shotgun was heard and the sound of breaking glass followed.

Slowly, Clayton walked slowly out of the treehouse and cracked his neck.

"That God-forsaken leopard just won't die." he stated simply. "It escaped after I shot it. Again."

Tarzan pushed himself to his feet, gasping heavily and massaging his neck.

"You okay?" Sora asked concerned. Tarzan nodded and glared at Clayton, still angry.

Clayton just smiled and pointed out that it was getting late and they should head back to the Campsite.

* * *

"Mr. Clayton! How could you have done such a thing!" Jane yelled at the hunter in anger upon hearing of the events that had transpired over the afternoon.

"Now, Miss Porter, as I told you, I was not aiming at the gorilla-" Clayton began, holding up his hands in defense.

Jane interrupted and shook a finger in his face, "You are not to go near the gorillas again!"

"All because of one mishap? Come now..." Clayton chuckled. He then caught sight of Tarzan, on Jane's left, glowering darkly at him from underneath brown dreadlocks, and Sora, on Jane's right, glaring, with arms crossed, at the Hunter as well.

Clayton chuckled again, this time uneasily, and held up his hands in surrender. He then turned and stalked out of the tent.

Jane sighed and turned to Tarzan and her three guests.

"Well...There's some sleeping room back here..." she announced as she led the way through a flap on the far side of the tent.

* * *

Clayton puffed heavily on his long pipe as he walked through the Bamboo Forest, a ways away from the Camp. The moon's rays cast shadows everywhere, enough to make the most seasoned adventurer wary.

"What am I doing with these imbeciles?" Clayton mumbled to himself. The hunt was so much more enjoyable on one's own, so why was he here?

The hunt...just you, your prey, and the jungle. The thrill, the sheer fear coming from your prey...the kill...

Everything. It was all so glorious. Such a rush of pure, unadulterated adventure. Man at his finest. Man doing what man was meant to be doing.

And those gorillas, the mighty beasts of the jungle, they were just the thing for the hunt. The monster gorilla, Kerchak, would be the most satisfying of them all. That would be enjoyable, most enjoyable indeed. And that leopard, that bloody leopard that just wouldn't die. It too. He would hunt the Leopard and the gorillas down too. Then maybe that duck and that dog.

No. Wait. No, that was going a bit far.

Ah, but did it really matter? They were animals just the same. He would go after them too.

But not yet...no, first came the gorillas. Then the leopard.

Clayton took another puff of dark smoke.

"Blasted gorillas! I'll hunt down every last one of you!" he yelled to the jungle, "I'll track you down. Somehow."

Yes, yes, that's what he would do.

He needed to find those gorillas.

He needed to _hunt_those gorillas.

He needed to shoot each one of them, and then take their pelts back to London. And the leopard too. They'd all go for quite high prices there.

Clayton took another puff and smirked softly, "I'll stake my life on it."

No sooner had he said those words, than a shadow began to take form ahead of him. In one fluid motion, he brought his shotgun up and shot the rapidly forming shadow, dissipating it into a puff of smoke. But another shadow appeared, this one taking the shape of a bluish monkey with a shadowy face and arms. He shot it too. He began to feel the thrill come again, not as much as if he had been truly hunting, but enough to make him smile.

Then a large shadow fell on his back and eclipsed all his surroundings.

He turned and looked upon a monstrous beast, surrounded by more and more of the small monkey shadows.

Clayton was about to shoot them too, when the monstrous one growled softly.

His arm, bringing his shotgun up to position, halted and he quirked an eyebrow. The monsters weren't attacking. Not proper hunting etiquette at all. Hm.

He smiled.

"Well, hello there..." he took another puff and leaned back, gun across his shoulders. "Perhaps you can assist me in the hunt."

Of course, he'd kill these things later, too.

Of course.

* * *

_I never knew how horrendous some of the writing in this chapter was. Gorram. Glad I'm rewriting it now._

_In addition, if you don't mind profanity and some bashing of Kingdom Hearts' flaws, go find the fanfiction "Kingdom Hearts: The Short and Honest Version" by, I think, NCHammer326. Don't quote me on that, I could be wrong._

_But anyways, it's a hilarious parody of the first game and definitely worth a gut-busting read._

_~Mars_


	8. For the Love of the Hunt

_(Touched Up As of 1/1/10)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It almost seems to me that a prerequisite to writing fanfiction is the ability to write a creative and funny disclaimer. Unfortunately, I had no such ability today._

* * *

_**Chapter VIII: For the Love of the Hunt  
**__Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art...it has no survival value, rather, it is one of those things that add value to survival  
__~C.S. Lewis_

Sora slowly blinked open his eyes and peered about in the early morning dark. What had awoken him? As his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he saw Donald and Goofy snoring peacefully beside him, whilst Tarzan was sleeping peacefully on the ground at the foot of the only bed, the one in which Jane was sleeping. Sora listened intently to the jungle around him and heard nothing out of the ordinary.

Small birds called out in the deep parts of the jungle while spring peepers chirruped away in their choruses, accompanied by crickets. So, again, what had woken him?

Suddenly, a scream echoed through the air that sent shivers up Sora's spine. All the inhabitants of the tent immediately shot up in fright, except for Tarzan. The ape-man slowly lifted himself from the ground, body heavy. The pained look on his face said it all. Jane quickly lit a match and caught it on a lantern.

The scream was cut short by the sound of a gunshot, a sound that echoed itself across the Jungle endlessly.

Sora, Donald and Goofy's eyes widened. Jane paled. Tarzan's pained face narrowed and he quivered in rage.

"Clayton." he bit out, spoken like a curse.

"Would Mr. Clayton really do such a thing?" Jane wondered anxiously,

"He did try to shoot a gorilla yesterday..." Donald pointed out.

Another shot sounded and Tarzan bolted out of the back of the tent. Jane hurriedly threw off the covers of her bed and followed. Sora shot another worried look at Donald and Goofy and ran after them.

Upon pushing aside the draping cloth door, the first thing Sora noticed when was that it was early morning, the first oranges of the sun just peaking up over the top of the trees. The second thing he noticed was Tarzan laying on the ground a few yards off, Jane was kneeling beside him with a hand on his shoulder. Something red and black lay obscured just beyond the two.

What had happened?

As he moved closer it hit him like a punch in the gut.

Tarzan lay, face in the dirt, shuddering with what Sora guessed to be silent sobs. Jane was slowly rubbing the ape-man's shoulder, tears trickling down her face and falling over quivering lips. And beyond them, a black body of a gorilla lay on its back. It's face was still etched in horror: eyes wide and mouth agape in a silenced scream. The black fur was mixed red with blood; small rivers of the substance running from underneath the body, coloring the green underbrush crimson. What didn't recolor the brush, the ground sucked up greedily.

What had Clayton done! He had actually killed a gorilla! Jane mentioned during the night that the gorillas were an endangered species in the Jungle and that was why she was only here to study them. But now, Clayton had killed one. Not just killed one, but left the body, meaning he wasn't even using it for pelts or meat. He had just wanted to kill it.

Sora heard Donald and Goofy run up behind, while Tarzan beat the ground with his fist like he expected it to return the blood it had absorbed, and with it, the gorilla's lifeforce.

Sora shut his eyes so he would no longer have to watch, turning to face Donald. "Can you use Cure? Maybe if we do it toge-" Donald sighed and Sora opened his eyes again.

The duck slowly waddled over to stand beside Sora, careful to keep his distance from the mourning. "Sorry, Sora, but Cure doesn't work when something is—is-is dead..." Sora clenched his eyes shut again and heard Goofy sniffle behind him.

Jane murmured quietly, "It's my fault...I shouldn't have just sent Clayton back to London...I should've done more...maybe this wouldn't have happened..."

Tarzan slowly stood to his feet and looked Jane in the eyes. He placed a hand on her shoulder and wiped at the tears on her face awkwardly. "No." he simply stated. This caused her to cry only more, for Tarzan had understood all she had said and had thought enough of her to reply in the midst of his mourning.

"Tarzan's right, y'know." Goofy began, "It's not your fault what Clayton did."

Jane nodded slightly, still looking unconvinced.

Goofy helped her stand to her feet, Jane murmured her thanks as he helped her back to the tent.

Tarzan sighed and looked back at the body.

"Bury." he said, his ire rising. "Then find Clayton."

The sound of rumbling thunder echoed in the distance.

* * *

Sora stood beside the small mound of earth that they had piled above the shallow grave in a clearing. A light rain had started, which had gradually became a heavier and heavier downpour as they had dug, turning the grave and the ground around it slick with mud. The mound itself had small rivers of water trickling down it's sides. The four of them, Donald, Goofy, Tarzan and Sora, all stood in silence. The Jungle also seemed to have quieted, the only sounds being the pounding of pouring rain and the occasional crash of thunder.

"I think we better get back to the tent.." Goofy recommended. No one replied, no one moved. Sora hadn't even heard him.

He could only imagine how Tarzan felt. He probably knew that gorilla very well, grown up with him, played with him. Odd to think of gorillas that way. Sora wiped the rain from his eyes and pulled the hood of his jacket lower over his face. What if it had been Riku? Or...or Kairi? Oh god. He couldn't bear to think those thoughts anymore. He felt sick and barely held back the tumultuous dances of his stomach. He was going to stick with Tarzan. He knew he would want to find Clayton if he had just killed Riku or...Kairi.

He felt sick again.

But, thinking of Riku and Kairi in this instance made him wonder. Were they okay? Was Kairi safe and sound? He prayed to all high-heaven that she was, and that Riku was okay. That the darkness hadn't eaten him.

Goofy spoke up again, "Maybe we-"

"Find Clayton." Tarzan spoke without taking his eyes from the grave mound.

Sora nodded and looked to Donald and Goofy who both nodded as well.

The three of them jumped when the thunder clapped again, much closer now.

All of a sudden, a black hole materialized above the grave and out of it popped a small being, resembling a monkey, with two yellow eyes staring hungrily out from a completely black face. Two small, but wickedly clawed, arms jerked about from a dark blue torso adorned with the symbol of a black heart, criss-crossed in red. Equally wickedly clawed legs stood beneath the creature and a long, blue tail twitched behind it.

"Heartless." Sora's eyes narrowed as he summoned the Keyblade, but it was unneeded. Tarzan gave a great howl of anger and dove forward, ripping the Heartless apart and back into darkness. The ape-man straightened up and looked back at the trio from the other side of the grave. Sora nodded. But Donald quacked in alarm as more of the monkey heartless appeared, standing in a semicircle around the grave. Sora sighed and readied himself whilst Donald and Goofy grabbed their weapons.

Tarzan just gave another great scream and charged toward the closest heartless.

* * *

Sora pushed a wet spike of hair from his vision as he slashed the final heartless into oblivion. He supposed his hood must've come off in battle. The fourteen year old keybearer began to scan his fellow warriors. Tarzan, Donald and Goofy looked no worse for wear, aside from being covered in mud and soaked to the bone. Thunder echoed again. Sora blew on the uncovered tips of his freezing fingers and wondered how Tarzan ran about in this with nothing but a loincloth on.

"So, I guess the Heartless are here too..." Goofy noted with sadness.

"But why weren't they before...why now?" Donald wondered.

Sora began, "Well, maybe..."

"Clayton." Tarzan said firmly.

No one objected.

"So where do we start looking for Clayton?" Sora asked, wondering if he had something to do with the Heartless suddenly appearing. Briefly, out of the corner of his eye, Sora suddenly caught sight of a black form just beyond the treeline.

"Who-who's there?" Sora took a step toward the shadowy form.

Lightning flashed. The figure was gone.

"Sora? What happened?" Donald looked inquisitive.

"I-I don't know..." Sora continued walking to where the figure had been. "I think I saw someone standing over there..."

"Gawrsh, I didn't see nothing." Goofy rubbed his chin.

Sora reached the edge of the clearing, a few feet in front of where the man had been standing. Nothing. No imprints, no movement, and no sign. Sora looked up, only to catch sight of the figure again.

Lightning flashed, but this time the figure didn't disappear. The brightness afforded Sora a slight glimpse of who it was..

The man, for it was most decidedly a man, seemed to be on the shorter side. He wore a black and hooded leather cloak that fell all the way to his black-booted ankles. The cloak was zipped shut from the neck to about knee height. Silver pullstring beads hung down his chest from either side of the hood, which completely enshrouded his face.

Lighting flashed again.

The man raised his hand, beckoning Sora forward, before turning and walking deeper into the Jungle. Sora moved forward again, inclined to follow the man. It wasn't like they had any better ideas on where to go. Maybe this mystery man was leading him to Clayton.

Sora suddenly heard his name being called by the others. He was again aware of the falling rain, not knowing when he had stopped noticing it. It had seemed like the world had gone into slow motion, all attention bent toward the man in the black coat.

The man was now gone, out of sight, and Sora suddenly knew he had to follow him. He wiped more rain from his face and took off into the jungle after the cloaked stranger, hearing Tarzan, Goofy and Donald following behind.

"_We cannot afford you dithering about in this Jungle forever, Keyblade Master."_

Sora continued to pull his way through the foliage, panting heavily from the exertion of running through the jungle in the pouring rain. He still heard Donald and Goofy behind him, while Tarzan had caught up about ten minutes before. Neither he nor Tarzan had spoken on why they were running or who they were chasing. Tarzan seemed to have an unspoken trust that Sora had a reason for going where they were going, following this cloaked man deeper and deeper into the Jungle.

It seemed to Sora as if the noises of the jungle had gone silent since the man had appeared, only hearing the steady thumping of the group's feet, the rustle of the greenery as they passed. No birds or bugs. No animals. And thankfully, no gunshots. Just the falling rain. As if the Jungle had gone silent in preparation for a next act.

The man appeared again, just over to the the left. Sora adjusted likewise. He never had the cloaked man in his sights for more than a few seconds, ever only just enough time to right his course if he had veered. The thunder cracked, breaking the hushed silence among the falling rain.

Many different thoughts entered Sora's head as he ran, thoughts such as was Kairi out in this rain too? He sure hoped not. Well, he hoped both. He wanted her here so that he could find her. He didn't want her to be out in a storm such as this. If she was, he would give anything just to find her for a moment and give her his jacket or something. Why? He had no idea why. He just knew that's what he wanted-

Sora nearly stopped short as another thought entered his mind. 'A storm such as this.'

He hadn't seen a storm like this since he watched Destiny Islands disappear.

Was that same thing happening here? Were the Heartless trying to take this world?

Distracted, Sora found himself tumbling over a fallen log and out into another clearing.

He pushed himself to his feet, looking up to see if the man was still there. He was. Standing calmly in the middle of the clearing, seemingly unfazed by the storm, as if he didn't notice it. In the distance, just viewable above the opposite treeline, were what looked to be a group of cliffs. The sound of crashing water could be heard in that direction, louder than even the rain. The young Keyblade bearer panted as he stood completely to his feet. He heard Donald and Goofy arrive behind him, gasping heavily. The man still stood, unwinded.

"Who...Who are you?" Sora yelled, breathless, over the storm.

The man made no move to reply, he just stared at Sora. Or, at least Sora guessed he was. It was hard to tell with the hood obscuring his face and eyes.

"Hey! He asked you a question!" Donald poked an accusing finger at the man.

After a few moments of silence, the man nodded ever-so-slightly and disappeared into darkness, a darkness that came up from the ground and enveloped him entirely.

The darkness faded and left Sora looking at the soaked form of Sabor charging from the opposite treeline. His face paled even more than it already had in the pouring rain. Sabor was closer now.

Sora leaped out of the path of the charging beast, only just noticing that the footprints Sabor left in the mud were mixed with blood. The beast's wounds must have opened back up. To his right, Donald summoned his wand and Goofy grabbed his shield.

Sora looked up to find Sabor charging back at him again, Donald was shooting off blizzard and fire attacks towards it, but due to Sabor's speed, they all missed. Goofy threw his shield like a boomerang after the leopard, but his shots were even less accurate than Donald's wild magic blasts. Tarzan was simply running relentlessly after Sabor, dreadlocks flying back. Lightning flashed and Sora heard a crack somewhere to his left. As he rolled once again out of the way, he glanced over quickly and saw that a tree was collapsing, most likely caused by the lighting. He waved his hands in Tarzan's direction.

"Look out!" he screamed through the rain. Tarzan looked up just in time to move out of the way of the trunk, but not fast enough to get out of the way of the branches, which buried him underneath their mass. Sora guessed that Sabor smelled a quick kill because it stopped running for Sora and began to run for the tree. As Sora got an unhindered glance at it, he noticed a rather large, oozing bullet wound in the beast's side. Most likely evidence of Clayton's previous attack at the treehouse.

"Goofy!" Sora yelled, "Try and hit Sabor with your shield! Knock him away from Tarzan!" Goofy nodded and took careful aim. Sora himself took off for the tree, hoping to reach it in time before Sabor ripped apart the pinned Tarzan.

Sora was given the step up when Sabor's front legs were swiped out from under him by a careful throw from Goofy. The leopard's body front flipped through the air and landed heavily on it's wounded side, ceasing to move. Sora sighed and reached the tree that had fallen atop Tarzan. As he tried to push back the heavy and thick branches that had buried the ape-man, he heard a warning yell from Donald.

"Sora! Look out!"

Sora turned to find Sabor running toward him determinedly. Would this monster never give up?

The Keyblade master turned fully around and began to summon up a fire attack. The beast would jump upon him any moment, he had to concentrate.

His mind when back to the time at Wonderland when he had been trapped in the burning fireplace. The heat that had licked his skin then, testing his tastiness. The heat that had seared the tips of his hair and caused the Keyblade to scorch his hand.

"Fire!" he yelled out. A ball of magic flames poured forth from the tip of the Keyblade and flew through the rain, wisps of steam forming in it's wake. Sabor dodged the incoming attack and kept his charge strong. Sora's eyes widened. He had missed. He didn't have the mental powers to summon up another spell, either. He didn't have to worry about that for long, though, because Sabor was upon him in seconds, knocking him onto his back, prepared to take a large bite of the Keyblade Master's face. Sora quickly brought the Keyblade forward, blocking Sabor's mouth. The leopard pushed and gnashed his teeth against the Keyblade, trying to bite through it and reach Sora. Sora pushed back with all his might, trying to keep Sabor's head as far away as possible, but his strength was failing. Both arms were shaking in exertion and he felt like he was about to pop a blood vessel.

Suddenly, there was a call of "Fire!" by Donald and Sabor screamed. A howling, ear-piercing scream that sent chills down Sora's spine. The Leopard, fur now alight, released Sora and dashed into the jungle, still screaming. Sora looked up and saw Donald's form silhouetted against the rain. His wand smoked slightly from launching the attack at so close a range.

Sora took a breath of relief. "Thanks, Donald."

Donald nodded. "Now let's get Tarzan out."

Sora slowly pushed himself to to his feet and began to slash away at the branches. He could still hear Sabor's screams in the distance.

"Gawrsh, I wonder why this storm just won't let up..." Goofy wondered as he assisted Sora and Donald with rescuing Tarzan. Suddenly, Sabor's screams of pain were bookended by a gunshot. Sora flinched. Clayton was close. Moving faster now, Sora caught sight of Tarzan's brown dreadlocks in the mess of leaves and branches.

"There he is!" he pointed out excitedly, "Let's get him out!"

Together, Sora, Donald and Goofy pulled Tarzan from the mess of branches. Upon his release, Tarzan stumbled forward toward the gunshot without a word.

"You okay?" Sora asked, concerned.

Tarzan didn't reply, just continued to walk forward.

Sora, Donald and Goofy all looked at each other sadly. Could Tarzan handle it if another one of his family and friends were dead?

The storm had still not ceased, in fact, if anything it had gotten worse. The ground was now nothing more than mud that served only to trap the feet of those who walked through it. The cliffs were close now, just beginning to form walls on either side of the party. Tarzan now led the group, heading ever steadily, not bothered by the storm, in the direction of the latest gunshot. The ape-man was as determined as Sora had ever seen him. Lightning flashed and Tarzan halted his trek. Sora wiped the rain from his face as he ran up to Tarzan to see why he had halted. As Sora approached, he saw something that distantly resembled a body laying in front of Tarzan. His heart dropped to his stomach as he wholeheartedly hoped it wasn't another gorilla.

Tarzan hadn't moved toward it, or moved in any way at all. He just stood and stared at the body, expressionless. As Sora looked closer, he found that the body somewhat resembled the remains of a leopard, although burned beyond absolute recognition. Sora, noticing the tell-tale wounds on the side, decided for sure that this was the body of Sabor the Leopard. The fur of the monster was completly burned away, revealing brown and burnt flesh beneath. Small flicks of magical fire remained, dancing slowly over the body every now and then. The rest had been put out by the rain. Sabor's wounds on it's paw and side were burnt scars that had engraved themselves deep, the head of the leopard was mangled and broken, but it was not due to the Fire magic Donald had unleashed upon it.

There was a single bullet hole through Sabor's . No blood, the fire and rain had taken care of that, but the beast was dead, and Clayton had killed it. Sora coughed. The one good thing Clayton had done. He had finally killed that bloodthirsty animal.

The thunder roared again, causing Sora to jump. He had almost thought it was Sabor coming back to life. He sighed and turned away from the sight. Sora was relieved to know that he wouldn't have to face the leopard again, but he was beginning to become queasy with all the death and darkness in this world.

Tarzan broke from his reverie and sniffed the air.

"Clayton close."

"Gawrsh, you mean he's-" Goofy began with wide eyes, but Donald silenced him with a finger.

Tarzan gestured forward slowly.

Sora got close to Tarzan and whispered, "But what about Sabor's-"

"Leave." Tarzan spoke firmly.

Leave Sabor's body? But shouldn't they at least bury it? Even Sabor should have that decency.

"But-"

Tarzan turned and looked Sora sharply in the eyes, "Leave." he repeated, harder this time.

Sora sighed. Then again, they didn't really have time for that. Especially if the Heartless was starting to eat this world. Knowing that he wouldn't get anywhere with Tarzan, and unsure if he even should, Sora perused the area. The cliffs were much closer now, only a few yards off on either side. They were in a canyon at the moment, small ledges and mini-cliffs were scattered up and down the walls. A waterfall still echoed at the end of the canyon.

Just beyond the treeline in which they were hidden, Sora heard the soft "click" of Clayton's shotgun reloading, followed by the horrified grunts of multiple gorillas.

Sora quickly turned to Tarzan, "We have to do-" but Tarzan was already gone. Sora looked over to Donald and Goofy, "Let's go, we gotta back up Tarzan!" both his companions nodded, and with that they burst onto the scene. A very, very busy scene.

Tarzan had Clayton in an arm choke from behind, pulling the man up and back. Masses of black and brown gorillas were scurrying around, escaping into the treeline in all directions. Attempting to corral them were some of the monkey heartless, probably following Clayton's direction.

Clayton was gurgling now from Tarzan's hold. The hunter quickly elbowed Tarzan in the gut, causing the ape-man to release his grip. Clayton turned to catch Tarzan in the sights of his shotgun, breathing laboriously through a bruised neck.

"Good bye, ape-man" Clayton grunted through crushed windpipes with a smirk and pulled back on the trigger.

"No!" Sora yelled, but Goofy had already started moving. He threw his shield like a disc toward Clayton's shotgun, hitting it's mark and forcing the shot to go wide. Clayton grunted and chambered another round, but Tarzan had been given all the time he needed. The Jungle-dweller lept forward, knocking Clayton onto his back and sending his shotgun skittering across the ground,.

Clayton looked after his gun in shock, as if someone had just cut off his arm and he was staring at the dismembered piece disbelievingly.

The shock soon passed and Clayton stared up at Tarzan, his face contorting with rage. Veins bulged from his sweaty brow and his whole face quivered. Tarzan's face grew determined and he moved his hands back to Clayton's throat.

As Sora watched, unsure of how to get involved, he saw Clayton's massive fist swing and make hard contact on Tarzan's skull with almost superhuman strength. Tarzan flew off Clayton, making a bone-crushing connection with the a rock not far from where Clayton's gun had slid to a stop.

With Clayton now free, Sora began to move, Keyblade in hand, but was cut off by a group of the monkey Heartless. Donald and Goofy faced the same problem. Through the scratching assault, Sora would occasionally catch a glimpse of Clayton stumbling toward Tarzan. Of picking his gun up, whole body quivering. More scratches and Sora's attention was taken again with the attacking Heartless. His next glimpse was of the hunter popping open his barrel and checking the rounds. Clicking it shut again. The rain seemed to fall much harder now, as impossible as it may've previously seemed to Sora. Thunder crashed in it's drum-like clashes.

Sora screamed in his mind for Tarzan to get up, to not lay there like a lame dog to be shot by Clayton. He furiously slashed at the Heartless, hoping against hope that they would stop so he could reach Tarzan before Clayton took his shot. Was he raising his gun now? If only the Heartless weren't so ferocious...

Suddenly, it all stopped.

The Heartless ceased their assault. They stopped their scratching, their swipes and bites. They all turned, staring in dark, empty-eyed rapture at Clayton who was just now noticing his new audience. He shrugged and turned back to Tarzan, who was just coming around.

That was when the Heartless made their move.

All as one, three groups of about seven or so Heartless each charged Clayton's turned back. The man looked behind him just in time to be completely engulfed in masses of dark blue and black, a scream never even leaving his lips.

Sora, Donald and Goofy all ran over to Tarzan, who was struggling to stand.

"Hey, Tarzan, it's okay." Sora soothed, "Clayton's gone. The Heartless got him."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that..." Donald muttered, slight fear evident in his rough voice.

Sora turned to see a flash of dark light explode from the pile of Heartless, sending the small beasts flying into the cliff wall, dissipating them into black smoke. Standing up in their place was none other than Clayton. He smirked and checked the barrel of his gun again. If Sora's eyes weren't mistaken, he could have sworn that the slightest purple-blue hue seemed to float off of Clayton's body like flames. Lightning flashed, perfectly completing the image. Trees quaked as wind whipped through the canyon, blowing leaves and underbrush through the clearing and sending stray, oily hairs blowing in Clayton's eyes, giving the man a look of one powerfully insane.

"How's he still alive?" Goofy's jaw dropped.

Tarzan took a breath, "Not Clayton..." he muttered some ape-speak that Sora recognized as the guttural noises Tarzan had made when they first met. "Not Clayton." He repeated. He seemed to be gaining a bit of strength.

Not Clayton? What did that mean?

Sora didn't have time to ponder this, because the trees behind Clayton abruptly exploded, sending dirt and leaves flying through the air. Sora covered his face with his arms to block the debris.

When he was able to look again, he saw a mammoth creature that seemed to resemble a chameleon like the ones he and Riku used to try and catch on the Islands (much to Kairi's chagrin) standing beside Clayton. Sora, even in the heat of battle, smiled slightly at the memory of the Islands and his friends.. He'd find them.

The monster was black in color, with large multi-faceted eyes. A large horn grew from the middle of it's hunchbacked head. It's body was lean and spiked on the back, leading down to a long, split tail jutting from behind. In the middle of its chest was the symbol of a black heart, criss-crossed in red. It bellowed as Clayton stroked it without speaking.

"Not good." Sora paled and rolled out of the way just as Clayton lifted his gun and fired. Sora knew he couldn't dodge bullets, only keep moving and hope that Clayton wouldn't be able to hit him. "Donald! Goofy! Get Tarzan out of here, I'll handle this until you get back!" he yelled to his companions. Goofy looked ready to object, but Sora turned and charged at the creature, aiming for it's tail. Upon seeing this, the monster moved to swing said tail at the incoming boy. Sora subconsciously reacted by diving to the ground and sliding beneath the sweep. He felt the push of the wind as it passed overhead.

He used his non-keybladed hand to push himself to his feet and turned. The monster now had it's back to him and Clayton was still trying wildly to keep him in his sights. Good. He was fairly confident he could at least stall the Heartless as long as Clayton couldn't shoot him.

Sora ran toward the beast and lept onto it's lower back. He began to clamber up to the beast's head where he started to slash at anything he could reach. He noted that Clayton was firing at him, but the bullets seemed to be going wide or hitting the Heartless itself, due to the fact the the monster had begun to buck around as soon as Sora had made his first slash.

In his side vision, Sora noticed Donald and Goofy charging forward. He also saw Donald calling forth a blast of thunder.

Thunder.

Oh.

Sora pushed himself off the monster's back, propelling into the air just in time for the thunder attack to miss him and make contact with the beast's torso. The Heartless screeched and thrashed violently, throwing Clayton backwards with a random hit of it's tail.

"I've got Clayton! You guys go after the Heartless!" Sora yelled to Donald and Goofy, who both nodded.

Sora landed on the ground in a roll and came up right in front of Clayton's double-barrels. The man grinned and fired. The shot missed Sora's head as he ducked, but partially destroyed one of the spikes in his hair.

Sora went for a low swipe at the legs with the Keyblade, but Clayton, showing surprising agility, dodged the slash by jumping. As he came down, he brought the butt of the gun onto Sora's head. It made contact with a resounding crack.

* * *

Meanwhile, Donald and Goofy were busy dodging the thrashing attacks of the chameleon creature.

"Uh, Donald, y'sure that Thunder attack was the best thing? I mean, in this rain..." Goofy pointed out as he blocked a swiping claw with his shield.

"Shut up, Goofy, we don't have time for that!" Donald yelled back and shot off a fire attack at one of the chameleon's eyes. It made contact and the monster screamed louder than it had before, clawing at it's eye, which smoked slightly.  
Donald turned and yelled to Goofy, "The eyes! Go for the eyes, Goofy!"

Goofy, ears covered and eyes closed, didn't hear Donald. The duck-mage called out a small blizzard attack on his friend.

"Gawrsh, Donald, that's cold!" Goofy yelled as he flinched at the attack.

"Shut up and go for the eyes!"

Goofy nodded widened in understanding and he took aim. Donald tried to shoot off another magic attack but the monstrous beast expected it now and batted it away with a large claw. With that distraction, Goofy's shield flew true and cut directly into the monster's unwounded eye.

* * *

Sora felt, rather than saw, Clayton grab his collar and throw him hurtling toward one of the cliffs. Sora saw, rather than felt, the cliffs charging toward him. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the pain. It soon came in the form of his back crashing into the jagged wall. He felt millions of small spikes jab at him. He also felt a wetness at the back of his head.

Sora looked up, world spinning, at Clayton. The man was checking his gun again and the results did not seem to satisfy him, perhaps he was out of bullets. Clayton merely smiled, shrugged and advanced toward Sora, who was too dizzy to move.

Upon reaching him, Clayton grabbed his collar again and shoved him against the rough wall. Grabbing one end of the gun's barrel and keeping his other hand on the butt, Clayton shoved it up against Sora's throat. Pushing harder and harder. Squeezing Sora's life of him.

"Tell me, young man, do I scare you?" Clayton spoke for the first time since being attacked by the Heartless. His voice sounded nothing like it had before, though, having taken on an unearthly quality. A roaring. A gravelly, rough and deep voice. His eyes flashed wildly as he released a disturbing laugh. Lightning flashed, painting the man's face in pale blue light. He looked like a demon, Sora tipsily noticed. A crazed demon.

Suddenly, Sora heard a echoing yell and Clayton released his hold, jerking his demon-head to the right. Sora fell to the ground, coughing and rubbing his neck. He weakly turned his head in the same direction.

It was Tarzan, standing high up in a tree, beating his chest in an echoing yell. Clayton had no time to make a move before Tarzan swung from a vine off the tree, feet first, landing a direct hit on the hunter's torso and landed nimbly on his feet beside Sora.

Clayton, on the other hand, was sent flying across the clearing.

A little ways away, Sora heard another scream and noticed the monstrosity that Donald and Goofy had been fighting was stumbling around, clawing at his eyes. Sora worriedly scanned the area for Donald and Goofy, finding them standing a few yards from the Heartless. Goofy had just caught his shield like a boomerang.

Sora looked back toward Clayton, watching him shake his head clear and rise to his feet slowly. Donald shot off a final Blizzard assault, freezing the falling rain into spiky projectiles as it flew. It made a direct hit on the monster's head and sent it stumbling, a building poised to collapse, directly in Clayton's direction.

Clayton looked up and blinked in surprise at the massive torso falling atop him, all he was able to do before the Heartless' body completely crushed the hunter. The Heartless slowly dissipated into smoke, leaving nothing beneath it. A small heart floated into the sky and disappeared into darkness.

Clayton's gun, thrown when the beast fell, spun along the ground and came to rest at Tarzan's feet. Tarzan picked it up and broke it over a rock.

Thunder rumbled again. But this time, finally, further away.

Sora closed his eyes and sighed, falling back against the cliff wall.

* * *

When Sora awoke, he found himself in the same spot as when he had closed his eyes: leaning up against the craggy side of a cliff. Definitely not good for the back.

On the brighter side, he noted, the rain had crawled to a light drizzle, no longer was it the raging monster it had been throughout the day.

Sora slowly blinked and rubbed at his eyes, looking to find his compatriots. He spotted Tarzan sleeping high in the branch of a tall tree. Donald and Goofy were only a few feet away, they seemed to be asleep, , those were Donald's snores. They were asleep. It had been a long, and early, day for them all. Everyone had been tired.

Sora took a deep breath, they had stopped Clayton. He wouldn't be hunting gorillas anymore. The Jungle was safe. All that was left was to find Riku and Kairi.

Riku and Kairi!

Sora jumped to his feet immediately, any feeling of drowsiness completed vanished. He quickly ran over to the tree Tarzan was reclined in and yelled up to the ape-man.

"Tarzan! You said you knew where my friends were!"

Tarzan looked down lazily, but immediately.

"Riku and Kairi?"

Tarzan nodded and looked about to speak when something else caught his sight. Sora followed his vision and saw something he had never expected. A large, black gorilla stood at the treeline, not far from their current seating. Kerchak was here. The monstrous gorilla nodded and turned into the jungle again. Tarzan, without a second thought, jumped from the tree with finesse and ran after the gorilla. Obviously this was important. Sora was about to follow when he remembered Donald and Goofy. He made a small detour to their sleeping forms and pushed them awake, probably a little harder than was necessary.

"C'mon!" he spoke excitedly to his sleepy companions, "Kerchak is about to do something!"

* * *

Donald yawned. "You woke us up for this?" he grunted.

"Just be patient, Donald." Goofy smiled good-naturedly. "I'm sure something important is gonna happen soon."

Indeed, they had been walking through the jungle for about half-an-hour. Again, as they had been all day, following someone. At this time, it was Kerchak, who walked with a steady pace through the jungle. It was easy enough to keep up with him.

It was odd, Sora thought, the Jungle-life seemed unperturbed by all the fighting with Clayton. It had fallen to silence during the day, but now it had gone back to sounding the same as it had yesterday when they had arrived, as if nothing had happened. Strange how that works.

Soon enough, the group came to a stop beside Kerchak, who was looking into a rock wall. Not too far away, Sora heard the roar of a crashing waterfall. He wondered if he'd finally get to see that before leaving. The closest things they had on the Islands to waterfalls were small, only a few feet high. Ones that fell into small pools that he and his friends used to play in when they were younger.

Kerchak moved forward to a large stone that appeared to be leaning against the rock formation and pushed against it, ever so slowly along the wall, revealing a medium-sized opening, leading into an deeper cavern.

When Kerchak had finished moving the stone, he looked at Tarzan and nodded again before lumbering off into the jungle. Tarzan smiled slightly and gestured into the cave.

"Go, Tarzan get Jane" he smiled wider and disappeared into the jungle quick as a flash.

Sora peered into the hole in the wall, it wasn't dark, light seemed to filter down from above. Most likely it was open at the top.

While he was gazing, Donald impatiently marched past him. "Well? What are we waiting for?" he quacked as he barged past Sora and into the cave. Sora promptly followed and what he found made his jaw drop.

The cave was not musty or dank as was to be expected, it smelled fresh and earthy. The roof of the cave stretched far above, so high that Sora could only see the smallest sliver of sunlight peaking through and lighting up the cave. The rock walls were covered in moss and vines, criss-crossing over stone ledges, growing across the vast emptiness above them, thus creating a vague canopy of hanging vines. The stone floor showed signs of being constantly damp and greenery grew across it in some places. The pounding of the waterfall was closer now, in fact, Sora could've sworn that he saw the waterfall crashing down, creating a fourth wall of water on the far side of the room. He guessed that a river ran above them on either sides of the crack in the vaulted ceiling, feeding the waterfall.

Oddly, It all reminded him of Kairi. She would love this. He knew that because she adored the Secret Place back home. Somedays she would just sit and think, absent-mindedly drawing her thoughts on the walls. And if there was any place like this cavern, it was the Secret Place, only times a couple million. If she wasn't already here, he would bring her here someday. But that was nonsense, Kairi was here. She could've already seen this. His only regret was that he hadn't seen it with her.

"Oh!" came Jane's echoed exclamation of awe at the sight. Apparently Tarzan was pretty fast.

Tarzan himself soon appeared at Sora's side and gestured forward to something Sora hadn't noticed before: A small glowing point in the wall. Sora was about to ask what it was when Tarzan suddenly gave his gorilla-speak grunt. The same one he had used at the Treehouse and while fighting Clayton.

"Look Tarzan, you've said that three times now, and I have no clue what you're talking about!" Sora pointed out.

Tarzan just repeated the sound and gestured to his chest.

"Oh! I think I know what that means!" Jane excitedly exclaimed, "See? Tarzan is pointing to his chest and—what were the two times he used it?"

"When he said he knew where Riku and Kairi were, my friends." Sora said quickly

"And, uh, when Clayton was jumped on by all them Heartless!" Goofy finished.

"Well then, I do think I can make an educated guess as to know what it means." Jane smiled, "It means 'Heart'"

"Heart?" Sora looked confused.

Tarzan nodded vehemently and tested the word for himself, "Hea-rt." he nodded, content on his test, and continued, "Friends, same heart. You and friends. Together." Sora's face fell at this, did he mean that his friends were with him in his heart? Not in Deep Jungle?

"Clayton, lose heart. No heart, no see friends. No heart, no friends." Tarzan finished.

"So Kairi and Riku..." Sora started hopefully.

Tarzan jumped toward Sora and poked him in his chest, right over his heart.

"Here."

"Oh..." Sora's eye's fell to the damp stones beneath his feet. Riku and Kairi weren't really here, Tarzan didn't know where they were any better than he himself did. But he had seen Kairi! She _was_ here! Wasn't she? Sora sighed. That was one mystery that would have to remain unsolved for now.

"Friends in heart. Special. Don't lose friends, don't lose heart." Tarzan stepped back from Sora.

The young Keyblade Master looked to Donald and Goofy who were still busy examining the new area. Were these his friends? They had traveled together for a little less than a week now, but had been through a lot more than any normal week. They were most definitely his companions, but were they his friends? And if they were, had he treated them as such? Sora thought about. Yes, and no. Respectively, he decided. Donald and Goofy were his friends, certainly no replacements for Riku and Kairi, but they were still his friends. And he hadn't treated them as he should've.

"Donald? Goofy?" Sora called, "Guys, I gotta apologize for being a jerk earlier. I'm sorry." he bit his lip.

Goofy just smiled, "That's just fine, Sora! We're all friends!"

Donald looked taken aback. He was silent for a moment before opening his mouth and speaking thoughtfully, "And I'm sorry too, Sora..." He looked as if he was going to say something else, but quickly stopped talking. Sora grinned. Donald wasn't used to apologizing.

Goofy laughed aloud, echoing the odd sound of his chuckle around the cavern, "All for one, huh?"

Sora and Donald looked at each other and nodded. Jane smiled and Tarzan tapped on Sora's shoulder.

"Keyhole." he said, pointing to the peculiar glowing point on the wall.

Sora eyebrow's quirked and he moved closer to the light. When he was about seven paces away, the Keyblade appeared in his hand and pulled itself horizontal. Then, just as the two times before, it shot a beam of glowing blue light into the Keyhole shape in the wall. The light went supernova for moment before fading into emptiness and leaving behind nothing but a small "click".

Sora looked to Tarzan who sighed and showed relief. He nodded to Sora and moved over to the stone wall, right beside where the Keyhole had been. He pushed on a small block of stone that looked slightly different than the rest. The stone made a slight hissing sound and popped out of the wall. Tarzan reached into the new hole and drew out two objects. The first, he walked over to Donald and placed it in his feathered hand.

"A Gummi!" Donald declared with wide eyes.

Goofy sighed sadly, "But it's sure not the King's..."

"It isn't like any of the other Gummi's, though..." Donald trailed off thoughtfully.

Sora walked up behind the two creatures, "Maybe Leon or Cid will know? Why don't we check back to Traverse Town next?"

Both his friends nodded as Donald placed the Gummi block in a pocket on his vest.

"Sora, Tarzan. Friends." Tarzan suddenly spoke up and pointed to him, and then to Sora. Sora nodded and smiled.

Tarzan smiled back and handed Sora the other item he had taken from the cavity in the wall. It was a small pendant of a glowing blue butterfly with a green chain running from it's tip.

Tarzan pointed ambiguously to Sora's Keyblade.

Sora looked down at the silver and gold Keyblade in his right hand and found his eyes drawn to the chain dangling from the bottom of the hilt. He began to think. He slipped the chain that Tarzan had given him onto the hilt, and then proceeded to remove the chain of the King's symbol and pocketed it.

There was a small flash of the light and the Keyblade changed.

It's handle was now wrapped in brown leather, and the hilt circling it was what felt like wood, but it seemed much stronger, wrapped in more leather. Two sharp spikes protruded on the hilt on either side of the blade. As for the blade itself, a long shaft of what still looked to be wood was what it had morphed into. Five spikes of sharp wood stood out from the tip of the blade.

Sora's eyes widened at the transformation. So these chains changed the look and feel of the Keyblade. Maybe they also made it more powerful?

Sora smiled, "Thanks Tarzan."

Tarzan nodded and walked over next to Jane.

"Well, I guess we better be leaving now." Goofy began to make his way out of the cave, soon followed by Donald.

Sora said goodbye to Jane and Tarzan and wished them the best. Jane asked him a few more questions about Donald and Goofy, which Sora answered to the best of his abilities. He waved goodbye and followed after his friends.

Outside, it had cleared completely, even the drizzle of rain now gone. The sky was a backdrop of pink and orange hues cut straight through by a rainbow, stretching out toward the ocean.

As Sora moved out of earshot of the Waterfall Cavern, he heard one final thing. The sound of Tarzan whispering in some form of clarity...

"Friends in our Hearts."

* * *

Maleficient looked out into the darkness of the Castle Chapel. Her allies, although she preferred to call them 'followers', were gathered around a small stone podium. She detested these people, utterly and completely. But each, unfortunately, offered a valuable piece of the puzzle and to the ultimate prize.

The witch waved her green-tipped staff and the image of the young Keyblade bearer and his companions vanished from the stone table in front of her.

"Whatever drew the Heartless to that world?" Jafar sneered in his lofty accent. The arrogant fool probably thought such a world would be beneath even the Heartless. Maleficient kept an even face.

"The hunter lured them there. It was his lust for power that was the bait." she allowed a small smirk to grow on her face, "But it seems the bait was too tasty for its own good."

"Yeah," Oogie Boogie's deep voice laughed heartily, "He got chomped instead."

That obese bag of bugs, always enjoying every ounce of entertainment that could be gleaned from any violent act. She could probably kill one of the followers here, Maleficient thought, and Oogie was sure to laugh and maybe ask for refreshments. Imbecile. It would be his undoing one day.

"A weak-hearted fool like him stood no chance against the Heartless." Jafar continued on as if Oogie had not spoken, "But the boy is a problem. He has found the Keyholes."

Maleficient shook her head slightly, "Fear not, it will take him ages to find the rest..." her small black pupils slanted, "Besides, he remains blissfully unaware of our other plan."

"Yes...the Princesses..." Ursula's deep voice came from the darkness. Rightly so, Maleficient thought, she could scarcely bear to even look at the Sea Witch.

"They are falling into our hands, one by one..." Maleficient allowed the smirk to grow wider as she waved her staff and a small casket-like device with a glass top floated out. It was designated by writing at it's foot as _**"The Fourth Princess"**_

Inside lay a young girl who looked to be asleep, long blonde hair held back with a bow. She had been changed from the clothes she had been captured in to a long blue and white dress, simple in design, with two small straps holding it up. All befitting of a Princess.

Blissfully unaware, indeed.

* * *

_Not much to say here. Have a great day. Eat a doughnut. Go show love to someone. Leave a review. Stuffs like that. :D_

_Also, forgive the not-too-good writing in Chapter 9. It'll be rewritten soon._

_~Mars_


	9. A Little Bit of History

(Touched Up As Of 1/9/10)

_Kingdom Hearts, in my honest opinion, is one of the best ideas ever thought of, one of the best stories ever told. And, frankly, I could never have created something that amazing._

* * *

_**Chapter IX: A Little Bit of History  
**__Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart and his friends can only read the title.  
__~Virginia Woolf_

Upon landing back in Traverse Town, our trio of heroes made their way to Cid's Shop in the Main District. Aside from saving a few Moogles (strange little white creatures with red balloon-like projections on their heads) from some Shadow Heartless, they found no difficulties.

As soon as he entered Cid's brightly-lit store, Sora flinched at the sound of something falling that echoed across the room. He noticed that a small doll had fallen off of a shelf on the far side of the Shop. Cid was nowhere in sight.

Jiminy, who was continually working on what he called his "Journal", a diary of the group's adventures, poked his head out of Sora's pocket to see what had disturbed him from his work. When the cricket's small eyes fell upon the crumpled doll, he jumped to the ground in excitement and ran over to the fallen item.

"Well, well, as I live and breath! If it isn't Pinocchio!" Jiminy bounced happily.

What followed, much to Sora, Donald and Goofy's surprise, was that the doll who had appeared immobile suddenly jumped to it's feet. It resembled a young boy, black wooden hair, blue wooden eyes. A wooden straw hat, and wooden red overalls with a wooden blue necktie, tied in a wooden bow. Then, surprises of surprises, the boy spoke.

"Oh, uh, Hi Jiminy!" he greeted, seeming slightly nervous, "The man with the cigarette. He wouldn't believe I was a real boy, so he, uh, put me up on the shelf! I was just escaping." Sora noticed that Pinocchio's nose seemed to grow a little at this. Probably just a trick of the light.

"What were you doing, Pinocch?" Jiminy questioned, his tiny cricket brow furrowed.

"I was...uh...playing hide and go seek!" Pinocchio replied proudly. This time it was quite evident to Sora that the boy's nose had grown. Weird.

"And to think, I was worried about-" Jiminy ceased his rant, noticing the sudden expansion of the boy's nose, "Pinocchio, are you telling me the truth?"

"Um...yes?" Pinocchio replied. His nose grew longer. It was now about the size of the Keyblade's hilt. Sora found this a slightly creepy and altogether surreal. He briefly wondered why he felt this, considering all the others strange things he had seen in his journey.

"Pinocchio!" Jiminy admonished as he shook his head, "Your lie is as plain as the nose on your face! Tell me the truth!"

"I was...uhhh...borrowing the man's stuff..." Pinocchio looked at the ground and shuffled his brown wooden shoes.

"Borrowing?" Jiminy's eyes widened in horror, "You mean stealing!"

"Uhhhh..." Pinocchio was about to say something, but Jiminy interrupted him.

"Pinocchio! You know that you promised Geppeto you'd be good so you'd become a real boy!" Sora had no idea who this Geppeto was, Donald and Goofy looking equally lost. They all shrugged and continued to watch the conversation unfold.

"Oh!" Pinocchio took this chance to change the subject. "Do you know where Father is?" So Geppeto was the wooden boy's father? Sora wasn't sure how that worked, but he noted that the boy's elongated nose seemed to be slowly returning to it's original size.

Jiminy took the bait, "He's not with you?"

Pinocchio shook his head, "Jiminy! Let's go find Father!"

"Woah now, hold on!" Jiminy waved his hands, "There are all sorts of dangers and temptations out there! I'll go find Geppeto, so you just wait here." Jiminy pointed to Sora, Donald and Goofy, "These fellows here will be helping me."

Donald balked at this, "We will?"

Sora put his hands behind his head and looked at the ceiling, grinning knowingly. He knew what was coming.

"Well, shall we go, Sora?" Jiminy ignored Donald.

"Wait just a minute here, we can't keep taking on missions!" Donald shook his fists, "We've got enough to do already!"

"Aw, c'mon Donald! Jiminy here does so much for us!" Goofy pleaded.

"He just writes in a stupid book.." Donald muttered under his breath before sighing and looking away, still muttering,"He could've at least asked us first..."

"Let's go find Cid." Sora rolled his eyes at his friends. Taking on another mission was just fine with him, as long as it didn't take away from looking for Kairi and Riku.

But, even if it did, he would probably be willing to at least try anyway.

At that moment, Cid kicked open a door on the left wall of the Shop. The building shook and a few potions and weapons fell to the ground. In Cid's right hand he had balanced a steaming bowl of noodles, which he was in the middle of eating with the pair of chopsticks in his left hand.

"Well, speak of the devil!" he smiled, "Me and Leon was just talkin' 'bout you guys!"

"Hey Cid!" Sora greeted, "Speaking of Leon, you know where he is? We need to talk to him."

"Sure do, he should be at the Underground Waterway. He trains there. Easiest way is the Alleyway in the Second District." He slurped up some noodles, "Through the water tunnels at the far end. You might need to swim a bit."

Sora wondered briefly how that was the "easiest" way, but nodded thanks anyway.

"Oh, by the way Cid, can you watch that, uh, puppet-boy over there? He's needs someone like you to keep track of him!" Sora smiled and waved before disappearing out into the town with his friends, before Cid's slackened jaw could voice any objections.

* * *

"-and then Tarzan gave us this gummi and we came back here to ask you about it!" Sora took a deep breath as he finished his long, run-on-sentence tale. He, Donald and Goofy now sat around a small, warming fire Leon had set up. The trio had found Leon just where Cid had said he would be: through a shallow stream of water that flowed under the town to a the rock shore cavern where Leon trained. Donald, Goofy and Sora had found their way in through a grate in the Alleyway and by swimming through yards of deep, dark, underground water. Soon enough, they had fallen out into a large, open area lit by a glowing lantern. There they had found Leon swinging his gunblade against imaginary foes. When he had noticed them, Leon had leaned his sword against his shoulder, panting, and told them that next time, there was a door they could've gone through. Cid had apparently either forgotten about it, or he had just felt like being a nuisance at that moment. Leon had guessed the latter.

"So..." Leon stroked his chin thoughtfully, "You found the Keyholes..."

"Yeah, the Keyblade locked them automatically." Sora restated.

Leon nodded,"Hm, good. Every world among the stars had a Keyhole," he explained, "And each one leads to the heart of that world." he looked off into the distance, "There must be one in this town as well..."

"What do you mean?" Sora looked at him oddly, "The Heart of a world? "

"It was in Ansem's report." came a soft voice from behind.

Sora turned to find a woman who carried a towel hooked over one arm. In the other was gripped a platter with a glass of water set precariously on it. The woman herself had bright green eyes and long brown hair tied back in a braid. Two bangs of her brown locks hung curled on either side of her face, and a bright red bow was tied at the base of her braid. She wore a long, pink dress that was buttoned up the front. On her feet were large hiking boots. Apparently she didn't care for the image when it came to having good and useful footwear. She seemed to exude a calming, peaceful atmosphere that came from a small, warming smile that graced her lips.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Sora, my name is Aerith Gainsborough." the woman smiled, "I'm sorry that I don't have anything to offer you, but I was only planning on Leon."

"You already know my name, but it's great to meet you, Aerith. This is Donald and Goofy." Sora pointed to his two friends.

"We already met her, Sora!" Goofy smiled proudly and waved at Aerith. Forgetting she held a glass of water in one hand, Aerith waved back, nearly spilling it.

"They found the Keyholes, Aerith." Leon broke into the introductions, after Aerith had performed some daring maneuvers to stop the cup from tipping.

"So what was in Ansem's report, again?" Sora asked, remembering Leon and Yuffie talking about it when they had first met.

"The Heartless...they enter through the Keyhole and do something to the world's core." Aerith's face fell, "It's terrible...poor people.."

"Gawrsh, what happens to the worlds?" Goofy's eyes widened.

Aerith looked at the ground, unable to speak, and Leon finally grunted, "In the end, they disappear."

"What!" The Keyblade Master and his two friends jumped to their feet and yelled in unison. So that's what had happened to the Islands, and almost to Deep Jungle!

"That's why your Keyblade is so important." Leon looked Sora in the eye.

Aerith finally looked up at Sora, as well, "Please, lock the Keyholes...you're the only one who can."

"Find them, Sora. And then lock them for good." Leon continued to stare down Sora.

"Besides...Yuffie told me about your friends...if you go around seeing other worlds and locking them..." a ghost of a smile appeared back on Aerith's face, "Maybe you'll find your friends!"

For Sora, there was no question. No argument. He had to lock the Keyholes. He couldn't just let the Heartless take worlds into darkness like they had his.

And Aerith was right, he could look for Riku and Kairi at the same time.

"Of course I'll lock them! Right guys?" Sora turned and to Donald and Goofy.

Goofy nodded emphatically, "Yup, 'course we will!" Donald was a little less eager, but not terribly so, agreeing nonetheless.  
"It's what the King would want." he said.

Aerith smiled happily and Leon sipped the water Aerith had handed to him.

"Anyways, Leon, this Gummi Block is different than the others...do you know what it's for?" Sora tossed the block over to Leon who caught it with a snap of his hand. He looked at it for a moment and said nothing before throwing it back to Sora.

"Ask Cid," Aerith shook her head, "He should know."

Sora nodded and and stood up to leave, but Leon stopped with a hand.

"Wait, Sora, take this with you." Leon reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small green sphere, which he dropped into Sora's outstretched hand. "I found this a little while after you left, I think it might be able to help you."

"With what?" Sora looked at the small sphere than seemed to emanate with a lime glow of it's own.

Leon was again silent.

Aerith giggled and looked at Sora, "I guess that means you'll find out."

* * *

Upon entering Cid's accessory shop for the second time, Sora and friends were met with the odd, and slightly unsettling, sight of Cid spread out on the floor, open and unopened boxes of noodles surrounding him. The shelves of his shop seemed to have rebelled; odds and ends were hanging off the ones that actual still sat horizontal. The rest had piles of items, potions, weapons, and food, lying in heaps at the slanted end. Cabinet doors were swung open, the items inside strewn about. Cid himself seemed to be asleep. His white shirt was ripped and stained, his goggles that had once sat on his forehead now hung around his neck. An empty pack of cigarettes was clutched in his left hand.

Donald waddled over and jumped on the man's chest.

"Wake up, Cid!" the duck yelled.

Cid immediately jolted awake, a fear in his eyes that no living man should ever feel. His head flew first left, then right, scanning the area for an invisible tormentor. Immediately, this put Sora on the guard for an attack of whatever had done this to Cid and his shop. He quietly crept over to the now-sitting Cid.

"Cid, did the Heartless attack? Is that what happened?" Sora looked around again for any sign of the small shadows.

"N—N—No..." Cid shuddered and whispered, "But shut the hell up, will ya? Don't wake 'im!" he pointed over to the crackling fireplace. Beside it sat the sleeping form of Pinocchio.

"Pinnochio!" Donald looked back at Cid, "_Pinocchio _did this?"

"Shaddap!" Cid grunted and looked in fear at the small puppet. "Why'd you guys go and leave the little f***er with me anyways?"

"We...uh...didn't know he'd do this..." Sora said, still shocked at the damages.

"Hey Cid," Goofy tiptoed over and whispered, "We got this here Gummi Block...can yah tell us what it does?"

"You're kiddin' me!" Cid whispered, shocked, and rolled his eyes, "You're flyin' a gummi ship and you don't know nothin' about Navi Gummis?" he scowled, "Bunch of f***ing pinheads. Interspace ain't no playground."

Donald jaw worked up and down for a moment, before starting to speak, a bit more loudly than Cid would've liked, "There's a lot we don't know, so what!" Cid's eyes widened as he looked at Pinocchio. Donald continued his rant, "We have to use the Gummi Ship-"

"Whoa!" Cid motioned with his hands for quiet, "Easy! Sorry..." Pinocchio shifted in his sleep and Cid froze. "Please..." he whispered, "When you're done you gotta take him, kid! Please! He's worse than Yuffie was when she was ten!" Cid fell on his face, "And that's saying a hell of a lot!"

Sora rolled his eyes at Cid and smiled, "Maybe you could get Yuffie to come and play with him?"

When Sora had seen Cid's eyes earlier, he had thought that those eyes could've shown no more fear. But now, Sora found himself to be wrong. Cid looked like his was dying inside.

"Uhhhh..." Sora hadn't expected that, he quickly grabbed the Gummi from Goofy and handed it to Cid, "So can you tell us what this Gummi is for?"

Talk of the Gummi seemed to snap Cid from his imaginations of what Yuffie and Pinocchio would be like, combined. "Basically, with Navi Gummis, you can get to new places..." Cid began to feel around on his head for his goggles to no avail. Sora pointed out that they had fallen to his neck. Cid grunted and pulled them up over his eyes, "Y'see, in interspace, there are walls of energy just hangin' around. You try to go through one and, bang, you're dead." Cid stopped his examination of the gummi to take a quick look at Pinocchio. "A Navi Gummi let's you go through those walls like they're jello by bendin' the space around your ship and creating a hole to go through." he looked up from the Gummi, "You want one on your ship, amiright?"

Sora nodded.

"I'll install it for you," Cid whispered as he pocketed the small block, "But I gotta deliver something first..." Cid rifled around the shop quietly, attempting to find the item in question. Every now and then he would check on Pinocchio's situation.

"Whadda you need to deliver?" Goofy asked quietly, hands cupped around his mouth.

"A Book. Real old book," Cid stepped silently over the counter to look beneath it, "When the old man brought it in, it was practically fallin' apart. Too beat up to restore it to the way it was. But..." Cid suddenly reached down and held up a small brown book triumphantly, "Overall, I did a damn well decent job puttin' it back together." he stepped back over the counter, "Anyway, you mind deliverin' it for me? It's the crazy old house in the Third District. Crazy just like the old loon that lives in it." Cid spun his pointer finger around his head, indicating insanity, and handed the book to Sora, along with a satchel to carry it in. "Just look for the fire sign."

Abruptly, a sudden tolling of a bell was heard. The deep, ground-shaking ring of a large bell.

"What was that?" Donald quacked, surprised. Cid didn't answer at first, he was frozen, looking at Pinocchio. Presently, Pinocchio turned over and continued to sleep.

Cid sighed, "That was the Gizmo Tower Bell...don't know much 'bout it. But I don't think I've ever heard it ring..." Cid stroked his chin, "You go deliver that book, I'm gonna go find the gang...that bell ringing might not be a good thing."

Sora and Company turned and began to walk through the door, careful to not make much noise.

"While you're there..." Cid called silently after them, "ask the old coot 'bout the Bell. He might tell ya something..."

The trio nodded and quietly shut the door behind them.

* * *

After pushing through the door with the fire sign, found with minimal amount of trouble, Sora saw that they were inside of a circular, tower-like, stone room. In the center, a raised circle stood out from the floor to about Donald's height, with steps circling around it. The room reminded Sora of the stone at the Waterfall Cavern in Deep Jungle. In fact, it actually reminded him of the Secret Place...wait, Kairi?  
Sora was unable to finish his thought because suddenly stood before him Kairi, staring out a rounded window that looked out over a small, dark lake outside Traverse Town. The world slowed to a crawl for Sora. Kairi was here? But, then again, he had seen Kairi in Deep Jungle and hadn't found her. Was he going insane? He quickly tore his gaze from Kairi and looked over at Donald and Goofy, seeing if they saw what he saw. They weren't paying attention. Goofy was looking out another, identical, window on the other side of the room. Donald waited impatiently beside him, back turned. Sora would've called for them, but words seemed to catch in his throat.

"You know...there's something about this musty place..." Sora turned back, watching Kairi run her hand along the stone wall. "It reminds me of the Secret Place back home, where we used to scribble on the walls. Remember?" she giggled at an unnamed memory and Sora nodded, a slight smile coming across his face, finding her laugh somewhat alike to water for a desert traveler, imbuing his heart with new hope. Kairi smiled at him, the kind of smile one shows when they know something the other does not. "I know you can do it. I really do."

Sora was about to ask her what she meant, and why she kept appearing and disappearing, when Goofy called over to him, sounding concerned. Sora looked to Goofy for just one split-second, before looking back to find Kairi gone. The world resumed it's normal pace. Where had she-?

Suddenly, Sora heard the door creak and slide open,_"_Well, well, well...you've arrived sooner than expected!" came a elderly voice.

Sora turned to find an old man, about Goofy's height, with a pointy blue hat and a blue cloak swirling around his small body. The man had one of the longest beards Sora had ever seen, perfectly white with small dabbles of silver that reached down to the man's thighs. In his left hand he held a small traveling case. A pair of spectacles sat on the bridge of his nose.

"What? So you knew we were coming?" Donald jumped in surprise at the man's sudden appearance.

"But of course!" the man smiled as he placed the traveling bag on the ground.

Sora's eyes narrowed, a bit suspicious over Kairi's sudden disappearance, "Are you...a Heartless?"

Donald looked at the old man closely, poking him in the leg. "Doesn't look like one..."

"Goodness, no!" the man swatted Donald away as he began to unzip his bag,

"Then," Goofy snapped his fingers."You're the old loon that Cid mentioned!"

The man stopped his unzipping and froze, before standing straight and stamping his foot, "Old Loon? The nerve of that man! How dare he!" the blue-garbed individual sighed and shook his head, proceeding to brush his cloak off, "My name is Merlin. As you might have ascertained, I am a sorcerer. A Wizard. I spend much of my time traveling, but it's good to be...home..." he finished rather reluctantly and looked at Donald and Goofy, "Your King has requested my help, you know."

"King Mickey!" Goofy said excitedly.

"Do you know where he is?" Donald asked.

"One and the same, and no. I'm quite sorry." Merlin pointed to the two Castle residents, "Donald, Goofy...but who might you be, young man?"

"I'm Sora."

"Hah! The Keybearer!" Merlin chortled. "A pleasure to meet you, young man!"

Donald, ever the impatient one, broke in, "So what did the King ask you to do?"

"Just a moment..." Merlin waved his hands about, "Presto!"

At his call, the wizard's bag flopped open of it's own accord and out from it flew first a tiny table. The table gradually grew larger and larger, much to Sora's surprise. Next came a China Tea Set, followed by a green high-back chair. After that came piles and piles of books, followed by a bed, a fireplace, and a couple of stands to set books on and such things like it. In a few short moments, the room had been transformed from a dark and cold stone building, to a warm and inviting study filled with piles of reading material, and a crackling hearth burning away.

"There now, ahem." Merlin plopped down in chair, "Your King asks that I teach you a few tricks. Magic ones to be precise."

"Well, first..." Sora took the bag he had slung over his shoulder and pulled out the battered book he had been ordered to deliver, "Cid asked me to bring you this book..."

"Oh? So he finally finished restoring it?" Merlin reached out his hand and levitated it from Sora's grasp, causing the boy to jump. "Took his time, didn't he? This book somehow found its way into my bag one day, such a curious thing...I asked Cid to repair it for me." He opened the book's cover and his eyebrows shot up to meet his pointy hat, "Now, what's this? This can't be right! There are pages missing!" Merlin turned the book so Sora, Donald and Goofy could see and, sure enough, small stubs of pages hung onto the binding, the first five or so pages missing.

"Cid did mention something about not being able to restore is back to the way it was..." Sora thought back to the Accessory Shop.

"I'm sure he did..." Merlin muttered to himself, "The pages were very likely lost somewhere..." the sorcerer closed the book with a small thump and looked up to Sora, "It may be a long shot, my dear boy, but if you ever run into any pages in your adventures that look like they could belong to this book, please bring them back here."

Sora nodded. Why not.

"Oh, and about that stone that Leon gave you..." Merlin pointed to Sora's pocket. Sora stared at the old man in surprise, "Yes, the one in your pocket. It's called a Summon Charm. You can use it in battle to summon a creature to aid you..." Merlin's face took on a sad look, "The poor thing was turned into a charm when it's world was taken by the Heartless."

"Is there any way to get the world back?" Sora wondered as he pulled the charm from his pocket, "To get this guy back to his original self?"

Merlin looked away for a second and seemed to be swallowing a painful memory, "Not...not to my knowledge..." he spoke in a soft, faraway voice, "But...I'll try. For now, the best you can do for it is use it."

"Gotcha," Sora nodded and deposited the green orb back into his pocket, "By the way, did you hear the bell ring?"

Merlin's eyes widened, "The bell? The Gizmo Tower Bell?" Sora affirmed this with a nod, but Merlin didn't see the gesture. The wizard was too busy rifling through a pile of books that had floated to his table. "Hmmm..." he hummed as he leaned back with one book in particular. "That bell, young man, has not rang in the seven years I have lived here. I'm not sure what it could mean...but, according to this record, it isn't good." Merlin dropped the book into his lap, "The book mentions that it is the harbinger of something to do with a 'key' and a 'dark force'...you might want to check out the Gizmo Tower...I suppose the Magic training will have to wait."

Donald and Goofy looked at Sora and nodded before running out the door. Sora was about to follow , but he hung behind for a moment, scuffing his foot on the floor beside Merlin's stone pedestal.

"Hm? Do you need something, my young friend?" Merlin took out a small pipe, lit it with a snap of his bony fingers, and took a deep puff.

"Uh...Merlin...I've been.." Sora began hesitantly, "Seeing this girl...this girl who used to live with me on my Islands before they...were destroyed,"

Merlin sighed with sympathy, "I'm quite sorry about your home, Sora...I know what it's like to lose one."

Sora nodded and continued, "Well...this girl...I keep seeing her...I saw her in Deep Jungle, but I never found her...I just saw her here before you came in but-but-" Sora choked up a bit, but only just a bit, "Then she just disappeared again...and I don't understand why..."

Merlin smiled tiredly and took another puff, "This girl...you are quite fond of her, no?"

"Wha-? I—I-" Sora stuttered and suddenly found his overly-large, yellow shoes quite interesting.

"It's perfectly alright," Merlin chuckled, "But as for your predicament...well, I can't say much beyond it being an interesting phenomena and that I'll look into it."

Sora looked a little relieved, sighed, and turned to leave, "Thanks, Merlin."

"But..." Merlin began as he lifted himself from his chair, "I can promise you this, Sora...If she means that much to you in here." Merlin walked up to Sora and put his hand on the young boy's chest, "Then you'll find her out there. With the power you wield, I can promise you that."

Sora blushed and grinned, "Thanks, Merlin."

Merlin ruffled his hair. "Now go on after your friends. The Town might be needing you right now!" Sora nodded and ran out the door after his friends, slamming it loudly behind him.

* * *

Merlin stared at the closed door for moment, slowly puffing on his pipe. Interesting indeed. The old wizard turned, picked up a book, and wandered back to his chair. Quite interesting. That boy was special, no doubt about it. He would find his lady-friend, and perhaps save the Worlds while he's at it. The power he held in that Keyblade...Merlin hadn't sensed that much power in one so young since the old days. Since the young man that had lived in the Castle, under the household of the Lord Protector.

This Sora was something special indeed.

* * *

Merlin had been right, Sora thought, he would find Kairi. But, the elderly sorcerer had made him think...what did Kairi mean to him? She was his best friend, along with Riku...she was a confidant of his when Riku was too busy with himself to speak to. She was...his friend, and that meant the world to him. Was she something more? —oh, look, Heartless.

Sora, Donald and Goofy had just exited the alleyway that led to Merlin's house when two or three shadow heartless materialized before them in a swell of dark energy. Sora called the Jungle Keyblade to hand, prepared for an easy fight, when the couple heartless disappeared in a puff of darkness, no sooner than they had appeared.

"There you are! Finally! What's going on?" announced a confident voice.

Sora turned and found none other than Riku standing before him. Talking to him. Riku? The real Riku! Or, at least, Sora thought it was the real Riku.

Just to be sure, the Keyblade Master ran up and poked Riku a few times in the chest, and pinched his arm.

Riku rose an eyebrow to this, before swatting his friend away.

"I'm not—I'm not dreaming this time? Right?" Sora stood back and asked Riku anxiously.

"I hope not." Riku rolled his mint eyes and pushed some of his silver hair to the side, "Took forever to find you."

Sora gave a victory jump in the air, "Hah! Riku!" Sora took a breath and smiled. They had found Riku. Finally. Finally, finally, finally! One best friend down, one to go. "So do you know where Kairi is?" Sora asked, still smiling infectiously.

Riku's left cheek twitched at Sora's question, but no one took note. "I thought...isn't she with you?"

Sora's grin became downcast.

"Well, don't worry. I'm sure she made it off the islands, too." Riku cheered and looked up into the eternally night sky of Traverse Town, "We're finally free. Hey, she might even be looking for us now-"

All of the sudden, Sora noticed a small heartless appear behind Riku. The older boy didn't seem to notice.

"-Don't worry. Just leave everything to me. I know this-" Riku stopped speaking when he heard the sound of dissipating smoke, and looked to see Sora no longer standing in front of him, but behind him instead. The mist of a destroyed Heartless floated up, diluting into the air.

Sora smiled and leaned the Jungle Keyblade on his shoulder, "Leave it to who...?"

"Sora! What did you-" Riku appeared taken aback.

"I've been looking for you and Kairi, too." Sora pointed the Keyblade in Donald and Goofy's direction, "with their help."

Riku, apparently noticing Donald and Goofy for the first time, looked at them oddly, before pulling Sora aside. "Okay, Sora, I'm going to be completely level with you...what the heck are those guys? They look like, well, a duck and a dog. Walking normally." Sora nodded. "And they probably talk, too?" Again, Sora nodded. "And you see nothing strange with this picture?"

"Nope."

Riku snorted. "You wouldn't."

"They're my friends, Riku, they've helped me a lot"

Riku looked over Sora's shoulder at the two beings.. "Uhuh. So do you guys have names?"

Donald ahemmed and puffed out his chest, "My name is-"

"It's Donald, the shorter-"

"Height challenged!" Donald interrupted with a wave of his feathered finger.

"-one. The other one is Goofy. Guys, this is Riku!" Sora finished the introductions.

"Gawrsh, Riku, it's nice to finally meetcha!" Goofy smiled. Donald mumbled a hello.

Sora looked back at Riku, "We've visited so many places and worlds, looking for you."

"Really?" Riku leaned back and smirked at Sora with the slightest pride evident on his face, "Hm, I never would've guessed."

Before Sora could ask what that might've meant, Goofy walked behind him and clapped him hard on the shoulder, "And guess what! Sora here's the Keyblade Master!"

Donald rolled his eyes and coughed.

"So this is called a Keyblade?" Riku remarked as he studied the blade in his hand.

"Wait...what?" Sora looked at his hand and saw that Riku had somehow taken the Keyblade. How had he done that? "Give it back!" Sora jumped at Riku with hands outstretched.

Riku paid him no head, stepping to his left and out of the way of Sora's leap, continuing to glance over the Jungle Keyblade.

"Urgh..." Sora rubbed his head as he sat up from his fall.

Riku shrugged and tossed the Keyblade back to Sora's sitting form, "Catch."

"Okay," Sora stood to his feet, not missing a beat, he was used to this. Just like old times. "Okay, so you're coming with us, right? We have this awesome space ship!" Sora waved his hands around, "Wait till you see it!"

Donald stamped his foot. "No! He can't come!"

"What?" Sora whipped around to face the duck. "Why not?"

Donald shook his head, "Forget it!"

Sora was ready to point the Keyblade at the mage and demand Riku come with them. Why did Donald always have to be like this? "Oh, come on! He's my friend!"

"I don't care." Donald crossed his arms and looked away.

"Huh? He's gone!" Goofy noted.

Finding Goofy correcty, Sora immediately forgot his argument with Donald and frantically began searching the area. Riku was nowhere to be seen. Impossible! He had just been there! "Riku?" Sora timidly questioned the emptiness of the Third District. Riku was simply gone. Why did this seem to happen to all his friends?

Sora wandered back to where Donald and Goofy were waiting and sighed, "Oh well, at least he's okay..." Sora leaned his arms behind his head, "And who knows...Maybe we'll run into Kairi soon too!"

For real this time.

* * *

Riku reappeared in tendrils of darkness atop a building above the Third District. He watched as Sora and his new friends wandered away. Hmmm...she hadn't told him Sora had gotten the Keyblade...she had mentioned these new friends of his, however, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, she seemed to be right.

Had Sora simply replaced him? Simply moved on from the Islands?

Riku's eyes narrowed, if there was one thing he could not stand, it was being put to the side. Ignored.

But somewhere deep inside, he still held out hope that he was wrong.

* * *

When the group reached the Second District, they found that Cid had made good on his word and gathered everyone. Leon, with his gunblade leaning over on his shoulder; Yuffie, absent-mindedly spinning her four-pointed shuriken rapidly in her hands; Aerith, standing, hands clasped behind her, looking up to the top of the Gizmo Tower, and Cid himself standing beside Leon, leaning on his large javelin.

"Hoh! Hey, kid, you just in time!" Cid yelled from across the plaza.

Sora nodded and jogged over to the group.

"We miss anything?" he questioned as he slid to a stop beside Leon.

Yuffie sighed, showing her impatience, "Yup. A whole lotta nothing."

Aerith blinked and seemed to notice Sora for the first time, "Nice to see you, So-" suddenly, Aerith pitched forward and began to fall. Luckily, Yuffie was naturally fast and caught her before she hit the ground.

"You okay, Aerith?" Goofy asked, concerned.

"I-I'm okay...I just have a small headache...lost my balance there." she giggled slightly and stood back up, "Thanks, Yuffie"

Yuffie smiled and nodded, "Anytime!"

"Aerith has always been able to sense impending danger," Leon leaned down and spoke to Sora grimly, "It was a gift of her heritage. Side-effects are headaches and fainting spells when she senses those things."

Cid leaned in as well,"There's the reason why Squall-"

"It's Leon."

"Whatevah. Why Squall even came. Aerith sensed danger."

Leon nodded, "She's never been wrong."

Sora was about to ask more, when the bell chimed again and the texture of the Gizmo Tower began to change.

The tall building, originally being seamless white marble, seemed to melt and reform. It spun together into a swirling whirlpool of vertical white until it suddenly stopped, forming into the shape of a huge Keyhole. The utter black of the hole contrasted greatly with the pure white surrounding it on the Tower.

Before anyone could speak, or Sora summon the Jungle Key, the huge body of the mechanical Guard Armor that Sora, Donald and Goofy had fought before, crashed into the ground, falling from who knows how far. The stone where it's heavy feet landed bent inward, creating two huge potholes in the ground.

"Oh yeah! Here we go!" Yuffie said excitedly and ran toward the Armor and, before anyone could speak, had jumped in the air and thrown her large shuriken into the Armor's small head. It stabbed straight through the metal armor of the beast with a loud thunk. The heartless shook for a moment and collapsed to the ground in a heap of arms, legs and a torso. Yuffie rebounded off the Gizmo Tower wall and landed on her feet in front of the Armor.

"The Great Ninja Yuffie strikes again!" she fist-pumped and turned to the collapsed pile, pointing an accusing finger. "Hah! You've been officially owned!"

Everyone stared in shock at Yuffie's accomplishment for a moment. But, before Yuffie could even enjoy fifteen seconds of fame, the Armored Heartless seemed to magnetize itself back together. Except, its legs clicked, whirred and bent from feet-like devices, to hand like devices. Then, it's hands spun down and switched with the feet. The whole body clacked again and it's helmet crashed down, revealing a pair of glowing yellow eyes, pitted in a face of dark nothing.

"Oh...snap." Yuffie gasped as the dented head, with shuriken still attached, bent outward and ricocheted her shuriken into a nearby wall, lodging it firmly in place. No mark was left on the helmet.

"Goofy!" Leon yelled as he lifted his gunblade from his shoulder, "Get Aerith away from here!"

Goofy nodded and ran to Aerith. She was about to protest, but Yuffie's body flying past her, clutching her shuriken, silenced her. The young Ninja landed hard halfway across the plaza.

"It's alright! I'm alright!" Yuffie yelled, "I was just getting my shuriken back! See?" she held it up to prove that she had just been retrieving her precious weapon.

Leon rolled his eyes and turned back to the purple heartless which was slowly walking forward, becoming used to it's reversal. The huge claws, now on it's feet, gripped the ground firmly, ripping up stones as it clanked forward.

Sora quickly summoned up the Jungle Key, as Donald shot off a blast of thunder at the Heartless. The lighting crackled through it's body, but seemed to be grounded by it's feet. Or hands. Whatever.

Sora ran forward and gave two quick slashes at the monster's left foot-hand. A few metallic fingers fell off onto the ground. The young Keyblade Master quickly rolled out of the way as the hand-feet spun rapidly around, hoping to catch it's attacker. During the action, Cid had sneaked up behind the Heartless and had been able to stab it in the back with his long spear. The monster made a sound akin to a roar and shook violently, causing Cid to release his grip on his spear and be sent careening into a wall.

Leon shot off a fireball at the dark face of the Armor, before jumping at it while the magic attack distracted it. He got off three fast cuts on the torso before having to use his feet to rebound off the purple-shell of the Heartless and out of it's reach. Sora soon followed Leon's lead and did the same, after Donald fired off a couple blizzards at the Armor's right hand-foot.

It was at this moment that Yuffie returned to the fight and threw her shuriken at the frozen right hand-foot, cutting it off at the shoulder. It fell to the ground with an empty clang.

Sora took a small moment to look over at Cid, who seemed to be recovering. Sora concentrated on thoughts of home, of Riku, of the beach, of Kairi, and was able to conjure up a small cure spell on the rough mechanic. Cid was able to stand again, and Sora saw him reach into a pocket of his belt, before dizziness overtook the Keyblade Master. Sora stumbled a little before Leon caught him around the shoulder.

"Sora?" He questioned.

Sora blinked and breathed hard, "Dizzy...from...using cure..."

Leon nodded and leapt, still gripping Sora, out of the way of the Heartless' still remaining left hand-foot.

Suddenly, Sora saw Leon's eyes widen and heard him yell for Cid not do something.

Next thing he knew, a gulf of heat enveloped him as he heard a loud explosion. When Sora was able to look at the mechanical Heartless, it's left hand-foot was gone, along with a large chunk of it's torso and it's left foot-hand. Cid was smiling proudly.

"That was a new invention of mine! Special grenade!"

"Dammit, Cid, my clothes are scorched now!" Yuffie grumbled as she looked down at her black jacket.

Cid laughed, "Sorry, kid, but I guess it's 'bout time for payback for the time you wrecked my ship!"

"That wasn't my fault! You were the one who left the ignition on!"

The Heartless, unmoved till now, clanked forward on it's remaining leg.

"You've gotta be f***ing kidding me!" Cid stepped back in surprise, "How the hell did it survive my grenade?"

"Maybe 'cause it don't work!" Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him. Cid grumbled and quickly lit another cigarette.

"Is...it always like this?" Sora groaned to Leon, his head still spinning.

Leon nodded before dropping Sora to the ground, "Most of the time." the gunblade-wielding man quickly ran at the Heartless, and, not having much trouble dodging what was left of it, got behind the it and grabbed onto Cid's spear. Using that, Leon swung himself upwards with a single hand. In one smooth slice, Leon severed the energy field between the head and the torso, causing the helmeted head to plummet to the ground with a smash. Leon completed the swing and landed on his feet, one hand supporting his landing.

The torso shook for a moment, before a blinding light grew from where it's head had connected, leading to the whole thing exploding in a large show of fireworks.

Sora sighed in relief and pushed himself to his feet using the Jungle Key as support.

Yuffie ran over and offered a high-five to Leon.

"Nice going, Squall!"

"It's Leon." he unemotionally stated, keeping his hands by his side.

Yuffie rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, bringing it up to a high-five.

Goofy and Aerith, who looked a lot better than the others did, soon emerged from beyond the far edge of plaza.

"Wonderful job everyone!" the pink-dressed girl clapped her hands together before waving them about, casting a Cure spell over Sora, immediately dissolving his dizziness.

"Aerith's also a master of Healing Magic." Leon explained.

With that, Sora turned to the large, dark Keyhole in the tower. He lifted the Jungle Key and a large blue beam grew at the tip, shooting directly into the depths of the Keyhole. A click that shook the ground resulted, followed by the the dark hole dissolving in white light, leaving nothing but the clean marble tower again.

"Whoo-ee." Cid admired, "That sure was something."

No one disagreed.

At that moment, Cid stopped admiring the Tower, and his face changed to one of anger mixed with nervousness.

"Uh...did you guys see anything up there?" Cid pointed to the top of the tower, "Like, a shadow or something?"

"Cid..." Yuffie cocked her head, "How'd you see all the way up there?"

"I-I-I don't know. But I saw somethin' up there! Plain as day!" Cid said, "And I think it was Maleficent!"

Immediately, silence fell on the whole group like a blanket. Aerith seemed to be holding back tears, while Leon looked on stoically, although, if one looked close enough, one might have noticed his eyes betray some form of pain. Yuffie's lower lip quivered slightly and Cid showed anger.

"Uh, who's Maleficient?" Sora looked at his friends, wondering what could have affected them so, "Guys? What's going on?"

"Hmmm...the King mentioned her once..." Donald mused.

Goofy nodded, "He sure did!"

Cid looked Sora in the eyes, "Maleficent's a witch, kid, a witch! She got this big f***ing staff with a green tip and wears these big dark robes and has pointy black horns like the devil on her head!" Cid quickly lit another cigarette as his current one went out.

Leon looked off into the distance, "She's the reason this Town is so full of Heartless. Don't take her lightly."

Aerith spoke up,"She's...been using the Heartless for years...probably longer than Yuffie's been alive."

"We lost our world, partly in thanks to her." Leon remarked, still unemotional.

Cid leaned back against a wall, breathing in deeply. "One day, a swarm of Heartless took over our world! I tell ya, we shoulda seen that sh*t coming...what with Genes-"

"Don't. Just please, don't." Aerith pleaded, "Don't mention him. Please."

Leon looked at Aerith with what might've been sympathy, had one known where to look for emotions in Leon Leonhart. "That was seven years ago."

Aerith swallowed, "Seven of us got off together, along with Merlin. Myself, Leon, Yuffie, and Cid."

"You said seven." Donald noted, "Who were the other three?"

Aerith nodded, "A girl named Tifa, a man named Vincent, and one other: Cloud"

Sora started at the last name, "Cloud? I met a Cloud! I fought a Cloud! He beat me!"

Aerith was surprised, "What did he look like?"

"Well..." Sora through back to Olympus, "He had spikey-blonde hair-"

"That's our Cloud!" Yuffie smiled.

"Hm." Leon said, "So Cloud was the one you fought in the Coliseum."

Sora nodded.

Aerith looked over at Leon, "Tifa will want to know."

Leon nodded, "We'll tell her."

"Thanks Sora." Aerith looked back at the young Keyblade Master, "I think you'll made Tifa very happy, knowing Cloud's okay."

"Big relief." Cid said.

Sora grinned, "No problem!"

Aerith smiled and continued her story, "The leader of our world was a great man named Ansem."

"The same Ansem who wrote them reports?" Goofy asked.

"The same" Aerith nodded, "He was a great man, studying the world, leading his people for the King and Queen..." Aerith smiled, looking back on memories, "He always had time for the commoners...until, that is, he abruptly became a recluse. We never understood why." she frowned.

"What happened to him?" Sora asked.

"We can only assume he died in the Heartless attack..." Aerith said sadly.

Yuffie rocked back and forth on her feet, "His report should tell us how to get rid of the Heartless."

"Uh, what happened to it, again?" Sora wondered sheepishly, ashamed at having forgotten.

Aerith shrugged, "We don't know...it must have been scattered when our world was destroyed."

"I betcha Maleficient's got most of the pages." Cid grumbled and puffed heavily on his cigarette. "So you delivered that book?"

"What book?" Yuffie asked.

"Merlin's crazy old book." Cid rolled his eyes.

Aerith brushed a lock of hair from in front of her eyes, "The one he wanted you to fix?"

"That's the one!" Cid replied.

"Yeah, he got it." Sora nodded, "He was a nice guy."

Cid laughed, "He's crazy! All his hocus-pocus. He's more than once messed up my shop and ship."

"Cid!" Aerith admonished, "We all know Merlin's a great man! He's been like a father to all of us!"

"Except to you, Cid. You're way too old!" Yuffie smiled and darted off before Cid could reply.

"Damn kid..." he grumbled. "Anyways, Your Navi Gummi's installed and ready to rock and roll."

* * *

Leon again watched as Sora and his friends left Traverse Town. They'd already done so much. Maybe they could do what he had failed to do: Save the world.

His mind drifted to his and Sora's earlier conversation in the cavern. Sora had talked about this girl nonstop. A girl named Kairi. Leon had found this odd...he had known a Kairi once. They all had.

But she couldn't be the same one. Not in a million years.

Leon hoisted his gunblade onto his back and walked off with the rest of his, and he was hesitant to say it, his friends. He didn't deserve them.

Hm. Couldn't be the same Kairi.

But, then again, crazier things had happened

If Cloud ever actually came back, Leon would have to ask him what _exactly _hadhappened that fateful night in the Castle. Only he still knew.

* * *

Cid whistled jovially to himself as he entered his shop. Weird how all this turned out. Real strange stuff. They had all returned to their homes after visiting Tifa and Marlene, giving them the news on Cloud.

He took out another cigarette and lit it quickly.

Now, he would have to make another javelin...his has been destroyed in the explosion.

Shame really, it was a good one, too.

Well, at least he now knew that the grenade needed working on. Maybe if he tweaked the-

Oh. No Way.

"Sh*t!" Cid muttered, cigarette tumbling out of his mouth as he noticed two important facts:

First, one of his Ships, one of his babies, were gone. Just gone. Vanished. Poof. Goodbye.

Second, Pinocchio was nowhere to be seen, nor found. Cid was shocked.

"No f***in' way..."

* * *

Little did Cid know, he had been right in what he saw at the Second District Plaza. Standing far, far above the ground, on the top-most point of the Gizmo Tower, was a woman dressed in dark robes with black horns jutting out of her head. Beside stood a tall boy with long silver hair and mint-blue eyes.

"You see?" Maleficient spoke slowly, "You saw it all yourself, and it is just as I told you is it not?" the witch held her staff out over the Town, "While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions." she placed her black-draped arm around the boy's shoulders, "Evidently, he now values them far more than he does you." she shook her head, "You're far better off without that wretched boy. Now, think no more of him and come with me...I'll help you find what you're searching for."

With a wave of the black, green-tipped staff, a small hologram of a young girl materialized. The girl seemed to be asleep. Her head was covered in red, auburn hair. She wore a white shirt, pink skorts, and a pair of white shoes.

The boy looked at the girl, at the Witch beside him, and then out over the Town; betraying just a slightly perceptible nod.

* * *

_Who was that man that Cid was about to reference? Why did Aerith not want to hear about it? What do you think the pasts of these heroes might entail?  
__Who knows?_

_In addition, now would be the perfect time to reiterate that in this "Epic of Kingdom Hearts" I am writing, Birth By Sleep does not happen. Instead, it is replaced by "Mourning's End", of my own writing.  
__And trust me, ladies and gentlemen, that particular story will be quite the trip. :D_

_But, from what I've seen of BBS today(it's been released in Japan on 1/9/10), that game is pretty trippy itself.  
__Now that I've finished all the re-writing, I return you to your regularly scheduled story while I go to write the Halloween Town chapter. Wewt._

_~Mars_

_PS. Just to let you guys know, my sister(Miss Riku here) just wrote an AMAZING Final Fantasy VII one-shot. I frankly think it's the best thing she's ever written. Go, check it out! It's called, "My Little Beloved"  
__Very good, especially if you think Rufus Shinra is the very epitome of awesome.  
__Which I do! __Freaking heck is he awesome. *fanboy moment*_


	10. Deserted

_So what's up, everyone? I know it's been a month, and I'm sorry, but...well, I don't have any excuses._

_Heh, sometimes I am quite the procrastinator at writing. :P_

_Anyways, I have to say, I love writing battle scenes. I can just envision them in my head. A bit random, but I just felt like sayin' it._

_So, I hope you enjoy this chapter and, as always, I don't own Kingdom Hearts._

* * *

_**Chapter X: Deserted  
**__Oh, I come from a land, from a faraway place, where the caravan camels roam.  
__Where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense, it's barbaric, but hey, it's home.  
__~Arabian Nights from Aladdin._

Maleficent stood looking over the desert city of Agrabah, eyes roaming over it's entirety. Off in the distance stood the majestic palace of the Sultan. Pudgy little nitwit. His palace looked to be about the size of the actual city, at least he had good tastes. Although she would've preferred less white and gold.

Sand-colored hovels were packed together below Maleficent like a huge metropolis, leaving little room to navigate on the bustling streets below. Poor fools pushed and prodded at each other, most likely hoping for the best meat or jewelry. Perhaps a suitable companion. Not a one knew that everything they were doing would soon be completely and utterly pointless, if it wasn't already.

She looked back at the other person standing with her. Jafar, Grand Vizier of Agrabah. He had already completed the first step of the plan by deposing the Sultan. Or, at least that is what it truly was. In reality, the Sultan still ruled, but Jafar's magic kept the rotund ruler under his power.

"And the Keyhole?" Maleficient asked as she looked back at the Palace.

"I still cannot grasp why we must meet under these circumstances," Jafar looked about the flat rooftop, and the town around in disgust, "The Palace is just fine for-"

"The Keyhole?" Maleficent asked again.

Jafar was silent for a moment, "The Heartless are searching for it now. I'm certain we'll find it soon enough." the Vizier scanned the skies, "So that just leaves..."

"Jafar!" came a rough yell. Descending awkwardly from the skies came a small red parrot, with a yellow beak and blue-tipped wings. "I've looked everywhere for Jasmine!" it panted, "She's disappeared like magic!"

Jafar scowled as the bird lighted on his shoulder. "Calm yourself, Iago." he looked back to Maleficent. "That girl is more trouble than she's worth."

"I thought you said you had things under control." Maleficent tilted her head to glance dangerously at him.

"Agrabah is full of holes for rats to hide in." Jafar looked away from her gaze, "But why worry about Princess Jasmine? With her, or without her, surely this world will be ours completely when we find the Keyhole?"

Maleficent sighed at Jafar's ignorance and studied the green-orb at the top of her staff, "We need all seven Princesses of Heart to open the Final Door. Any fewer is useless."

She could just see the arrogant fool nodding ever-so-slightly, "Well then, if the Princess is that important, we'll find her." Jafar waved the gold, snake-topped staff he held and a cadre of Heartless appeared. He spoke to the Heartless without looking upon them, "Find Princess Jasmine, and bring her to me at once."

The Heartless jumped eagerly before scurrying off to perform their Master's business.

Maleficent finally turned and faced Jafar fully, her face unreadable, "Don't steep yourself in darkness too long. The Heartless consume the careless."

Translation: I might still need to use you for Kingdom Hearts, you fool, so don't let the Heartless take you.

Jafar apparently didn't catch the translation and chuckled as he walked away, "Your concern is touching, but hardly necessary."

One of Maleficent's thin, black eyebrows rose slightly as she disappeared into tendrils of darkness.

* * *

Sora immediately choked upon landing in their next destination: The desert land of Agrabah. He gagged and spit to be rid of the sand that had blown into his mouth. Why had Donald teleported them right in front of the city, still in the desert, instead of inside the relative shelter of the city? Ugh.

He finally succeeded in spitting the last of the sand from his mouth and jogged into the shade and non-windblown entrance to Agrabah.

Of course, the young Keyblade Master was quite used to sand getting everywhere, he _had _lived on Destiny Islands, after all, and sand had been an abundant commodity there. But the sand here was different. On the Islands, the sand was soft and lovely. The kind of sand that you could relax in comfortably, like a blanket, an absolute heavenly feeling when it was cool in the late parts of the evening. The kind that makes perfectly watered mud when mixed with water for sandcastles. The Agrabahian sand was no Island sand. The sand here was grainy and rough, cracking underfoot and blowing scattered particles in one's face.

The buildings around Sora were packed tightly together, one on top of another; others connected through walkways on their flat, sand-colored roofs. Colorful tarps and blankets hung over shops, their owners selling all manner of items and toys. People bustled and pushed closer and closer together the deeper you went in, much like the buildings themselves. Flies flew in swarms above the crowd, occasionally dive-bombing one stand or another. It was humid, it was crowded, and it was suffocating. All things that Sora hated. Off in the distance, Sora could just make out a few gold-topped, white citadels, most likely the home of royalty.

Before Sora, Donald and Goofy could really begin to garner strange looks from the populace, a scream rang out across the bazaar, sending people scattering away into holes in the buildings. Sora and the two Disney Castle residents pushed forward to see what had been the cause of the screams, a difficult task, considering that the rest of the people were running away from the hub of the panic.

Soon enough, they reached the center of the bazaar and found a group of Heartless chasing the citizens of Agrabah into their homes. They seemed to be searching for something or someone while they were at it, heads jerking around like spotlights as they busied knocked over stands and and uprooted tables.

This class of Heartless appeared similar to desert bandits. White turbans were wrapped around shadowed faces, punctured by yellow eyes, the excess material piled high atop their heads. Two scythes were held in each dark hand and blue desert royalty robes adorned their bodies.

Donald fired off a Blizzard from a ways away, while Sora and Goofy got in close, removing the Bandit Heartless with little difficulty.

When the second to last Bandit was vaporized into black smoke, and Sora began to scan the area to see if anyone was hurt, a portal of darkness opened and out of it came a huge, monstrous heartless.

Well, not so huge as it was fat. Really fat.

This new creature was about twice Sora's height, and, by Sora's own estimates, a gazillion times his weight. It's massive body was covered in a orange, desert robes and a white hat sat upon it's black head. A large black heart, criss-crossed in red, sat prominently on it's stomach, and it's huge, pudgy arms swung at it's side.

"Uh...Donald? Goofy? What do we do?" Sora wondered aloud as he watched the fat Heartless slowly lumber toward the group.

"We attack it!" Donald yelled, as if Sora should've known better. The duck followed with a shot of Blizzard right at the bandit's stomach. Upon impact, the attack simply bounced off and ricocheted into the corner of a building, creating a frozen patch on the tan stone, soon to be melted by the sun's rays.

"Uhhhh..." Goofy pointed to the Heartless' face, redirecting Sora's attention from the misplaced ice.

Looking back, he found that the fat Heartless had opened it's mouth and seemed to be charging up a fire ball in it. A large fireball. A fireball that was now heading towards him

Sora quickly rolled out of the way, leaving behind a glassy finish instead of sand where the fireball had made contact.

"We gotta run!" Sora yelled to Donald and Goofy, while the Hearltess charged up another fireball, "Hide somewhere!"

Donald was about to protest, but Goofy grabbed the diminutive mage and dragged him through a near-hidden door in the corner of the market. Sora quickly followed through and found himself in a dank, broken-down house. Small rickety stairs led up to the second floor, where Donald and Goofy must've ran. He could still hear the sand outside crunching under the large feet of the obese Heartless. Sora shot up the weak stairs, a few steps breaking apart behind him.

The second floor, in contrast to the first, looked as if it had been lived in. A desk and a few drawers were set off to the side. A few blankets lay in a corner in what looked to resemble a bed. A few tall brown and gray pots were grouped together in the opposite corner. On both sides of the room, pieces of the wall were missing, revealing a nice view of the city. But what enraptured Donald and Goofy's attention was a carpet, a carpet that had one end trapped under a desk and seemed to attempting to escape.

Wait, what?

Sure enough, a purple, red and yellow decorated carpet was tugging, on it's own, against the table's left front leg. The carpet was moving.

_The carpet was moving._

Sora imagined that Donald and Goofy had similar thoughts on this strange turn of events, which was probably why it appeared that they had done nothing but look at the struggling carpet awkwardly.

Sora supposed he would have to get used to these types of things happening, considering the nature of their mission. They were traveling to other worlds, after all.

"So, uh, we gonna help it?" Sora walked up behind his two friends.

Donald and Goofy broke their gaze with the struggling carpet and nodded, moving forward along with Sora to remove the table leg from the carpet. But just as they gave one final push, a voice rang out.

"Wait! Don't!"

But it was too late, and the carpet was freed. It spun in place for a moment before speeding out one of the gaps in the wall, flying out towards the desert.

Sora, Donald and Goofy all turned at once to see who had wanted them to stop; they soon found staring upon a young woman who had apparently been hiding behind the pots. She had large brown eyes and wore a blue bedlah outfit with long poofy bustle pants and a top which left her forearms and midriff bare. On her feet were two golden slipper-like shoes. Two hooped copper earings hung from each ear and a sapphire was placed in a blue headband surrounding her long black hair.

"He wanted Carpet to stay here, and that was the only way it would!" she declared to our heroic trio with a small stamp of her foot. She then sighed and shrugged, "Since you helped Carpet, you couldn't be working for Jafar...so I'm Jasmine, my father is the Sultan of Agrabah."

"Uh, what's a sutton?" Goofy asked, brow furrowed.

"Sultan." Jasmine corrected and cast a suspicious look on them all. "And how could you not know? He rules all of Agrabah."

"We're from along ways away, way across the desert." Donald quickly spoke up.

"So that makes you a Princess?" Sora confirmed.

Jasmine nodded, "But he has been deposed by Jafar, who now rules the city. I think Jafar is controlling my father with his magic..."

"So who's Jafar?" Sora asked as he looked out upon the city. The Heartless seemed to have left, as people were wandering back out of their homes looking dazed. They'd be back to their normal routine soon enough.

"Jafar is the Royal Vizier, he's a bad man who gained evil powers and seized Agrabah..." Jasmine stared at the ground for a moment before looking straight into Sora's eyes, "He's...he's desperately looking for something—something he once called the 'Keyhole'. Jafar caught me trying to escape but HE helped me." the Princess ended with a ghost of a smile.

Sora cocked his head, "Who's he?"

"We were hiding together, here, in his house," she continued with a frown forming on her face, "But he left awhile ago, he thought he had found something to help us...Oh, I hope Aladdin's alright.." she sighed, "And now that Carpet is gone, into the desert after Aladdin no doubt, I'm worried..."

"Aladdin? And where might I find this street rat?" asked a nasally voice from the stairs. Sora quickly turned to find himself staring at a tall man, dressed in robes of black and red. A dark maroon cape draped off two black, elongated shoulder pads. Gold slipper-esque shoes poked out from beneath his black robe. This man had a tall and angular face, with a twisted goatee twirled off his chin. Small black eyes sat below a large black turban with a single red feather in front, a ruby sat where the feather met the headpiece. In his right hand he held a long, golden staff with the head of a snake chiseled atop it. Emerald eyes seemed to glare from the unnatural-looking staff. The man looked around Aladdin's home disdainfully, nose upturned, "Come now, Jasmine, allow me to find you more suitable company, my dear princess." he turned his look to Sora, Donald and Goofy, "These little rats won't do, you see."

"Jasmine! Run!" Sora yelled as he narrowed his eyes at the insult. With a flick of his wrist, he called the Keyblade to his hands.

"Ah!" the man smiled, "The boy who holds the key." he waved his staff. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jafar." a legion of Heartless appeared around the trio. "The Sultan of Agrabah and most powerful sorcerer in the world!" the Heartless began to move toward Jasmine, who had still yet to run.

"Jasmine! You need to go!" Sora yelled again and batted away a particularly eager Heartless. He watched as a few more jumped toward Donald and Goofy.

Jasmine backed up to the wall as the Heartless approached, "You have to find Aladdin! You know where he is!" she turned and dove through one of the larger openings in the wall, soon trailed by a few Heartless.

"Silly child, it is all so useless." Jafar rolled his eyes and disappeared into darkness, taking the Heartless that hadn't already followed Jasmine with him.

After a slight pause, Sora and Donald began to climb after Jasmine.

"Hey, guys...Jasmine said we need to find this Aladdin too!" Goofy interrupted them mid-climb.

Sora backed into Aladdin's home, "Goofy's right. We need to help Jasmine and find Aladdin."

"You mean split-up?" Donald asked as he fell back into the room.

"I guess," Sora held back a smile as the duck climbed back to his feet, they had more pressing things to keep their minds on. "I can go to the desert and find Aladdin. You two can stay here, follow Jafar, and help Jasmine."

Goofy held up a hand, "But Sora...going into the desert alone? Is that-"

"I'll be fine." Sora waved him off, "Besides, Jafar looks pretty powerful. Two against him would be better than one." Donald nodded his head in agreement while Goofy seemed to be deep in thought.

"I could use some munny from the gummi ship, though..." Sora trailed off, "For water and stuff..."

Donald sighed and nodded, "I'll be right back..."

* * *

Sora took a breath through the fabric facemask that Donald had bought along with the water. The Mage had bought everything himself, having said something about not trusting Sora with the King's munny.

The desert of Agrabah stretched out before him, this was where Jasmine had mentioned Aladdin was; but this place was huge. Finding Aladdin would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Donald had noted that, from the Gummi Ship, there was group of huge rocks out in the middle of the desert, the only thing for miles around. There might as well be the first place to start.

As Sora trudged through the desert, and Agrabah slowly disappeared behind him, he didn't have much to do but think. Donald had said the rocks were straight out into the desert, he just had to follow a straight line.

So here he was, in a desert far from home. If his home really and truly existed anymore, which he doubted. Meaning that he was actually not far from his home, because his home was nowhere to be found. Sora snorted. Odd, that had made no sense. Perhaps the heat was affecting him more than he thought, he'd only been walking for fifteen or so minutes.

He took a sip from the canteen of water and walked merrily on.

So Riku...he had found Riku in Traverse Town and his friend had seemed to be okay, albeit perhaps a bit sad. Maybe not sad...more like...melancholy? Sora wasn't sure he remembered what that word meant, but he thought that it might correctly represent how Riku had seemed.

It was odd, though, that neither of them had found Kairi yet, but it was a big galaxy. He'd find Riku again, and then they'd find Kairi together and then...and then what would they do? Home wasn't there anymore. Where would they live? The most obvious answer would be with Leon, Aerith, Yuffie and Cid in Traverse Town. But home...did Riku know about the islands? The last Sora had seen of Riku on the islands was when the tendrils of darkness surrounded and swallowed him. What had happened afterward? Had he awakened in Traverse Town like him? Or somewhere else? Why did Riku allow the darkness to take him in the first place? And what had Riku meant when he said that 'the door was opened'? That was what the man in the Secret Place had said. How did Riku know to say that?

Sora didn't like the way this train of thoughts were going.

* * *

The young Keyblade Master shielded his eyes from a blast of sand and peered about him. Desert in every direction; except behind him where Agrabah was still just visible. How long had he been walking? Hours? His canteen only held about a third of the water it had originally held, and still no rocks were in sight. Sora pulled the canteen up for another drink. Oh. Maybe it wasn't at one third...it felt more like it was nearly empty. Perhaps he should conserve it...but...his mouth burned, his tongue felt dry and swollen, and his mouth had become a saliva-free zone. Sora closed his eyes for moment and took a step forward before stumbling to his knees. When had he become so tired? He pushed himself to his feet and trudged on. He'd have some water in a few minutes.

Those few minutes turned into twenty minutes, which turned into a half-hour, which turned into a hour before Sora could take it no longer and drained the last of his water. He closed his eyes and swished the liquid around his mouth, savoring the refreshing feeling of it before swallowing over a parched throat. Heavenly. Absolutely heavenly.

He'd had no idea the sheer beautiful taste of water until now, he would never take it for granted again. Sora had always heard about how good water tasted after traveling through a desert. Like fountains from on-high. All of it was true. Very, very, very true. Water was...wonderful. Glorious. Heavenly.

He wiped rivulets of sweat from his forehead with his bare hand, he had long ago stuffed his white finger gloves in the pockets of his jacket, which he had slung over his shoulder.

Was the water he had just drank basically the same as the sweat pouring off him right now? Could he drink his sweat if needed? Sora felt slight disgust at the idea, but couldn't remember why he should. If only he had paid more attention in Science, instead of passing notes to Kairi...how had she managed to keep her grades so high when she had been passing as many notes as he, anyway? And where the heck were those rocks? He had been walking for hours and they were still nowhere to be seen.

Wait, were those the rocks off in the distance? Or palm trees?

Sora wondered this as he noticed something in the distance. It seemed to shimmer a little, but he attributed it to the biting heat that rose off the desert floor. As Sora approached, stumbling, he decided that they were most definitely palm trees, shading a pool of clear blue, oh yes, was that-Water!

Sora legs began to pump as he charged toward what he viewed as Heaven in liquidated form, dropping his jacket a few feet away and diving headfirst in.

What he landed in was definitely not water, nor anything remotely related to it.

It was sand. And, again, not the soft Island sand, but the unforgiving, rough desert sand.

Sora lay face first in the ground for a few moments, not entirely convinced he had not just jumped into a glistening pool. Finally, he rolled over onto his back and absently brushed the sand from his face. What do they call that? A mirage, was it? Well, it doesn't matter...it can't be good. Sora's brain thought that perhaps he should sit back up, but his legs didn't seem to be responding right now. Maybe they were out fishing, perhaps they could bring some water back with the fish? Wait. That made no sense.

What was his name again?

Oh, right, Sora Akari Taiyou. At least he was pretty sure.

Man, he really should be standing up. The sand was baking his back slowly, and the sun was burning his face. He really should be doing something. Anything.

But Sora continued to lie there, slowly baking to a crisp.

Why was he here? To find Aladdin at the rocks. Of course. But he wasn't even sure that's where this Aladdin was! How stupid had he been to go looking like this. Sora would've mentally kicked himself, but he didn't seem to have the strength to do that either.

Suddenly, the boy heard something that sounded like a hissing. Maybe a few clacks. No, definitely just hissing. How nice. Sora closed his eyes and hummed along with the hissing through cracked lips. And, wait, yes, there were clicks, at least. And it sounded like it was getting closer. Much closer.

Sora peeped open one eye, using his right hand to block the sun's rays, and looked in the direction of the sound. It appeared to be a Heartless. A Heartless in the form of a giant scorpion. Huge black pincers sat in front of it, connected to a long black body with a triangular head. Small yellow eyes glared out from an otherwise dark face. Six thin legs clacked along the sand in unison. Two huge black tails arched over the scorpion's back, ending in a a pair of wicked looking black stingers, tinged in green liquid.

Sora's brain took a few moments to calculate what this meant, and in that time, the scorpion began to clack forward at a greater speed; bringing it's sharp tails up and shooting them forward to skewer his dazed prey.

Thankfully for Sora, his instincts kicked in at the last moment and he shot up and away, just as the stingers lodged themselves in the sand. He felt specks of sand fly up and hit him after the impact. With a flick of his wrist, the Jungle Key appeared in mid-leap. Sora landed softly on the sand a few feet away. His legs almost fell out from under him, but adrenaline kept him up. The scorpion easily pulled it's stingers from the sand and reared up on it's hind legs, making that odd clacking sound with it's multi-hinged jaw, which only just became visible. It landed firmly again and charged forward at Sora.

The Keyblade Master spun the Jungle Key once in his right hand and jumped forward, dodging one of the stingers that came at him in midair, and attempting a few strikes at the body. His hits connected, but bounced harmlessly off the hard shell, sending shockwaves up his arm. Sora landed into a roll behind the scorpion and came up to find it turning around back toward his, pincers snapping. He readied himself.

The scorpion plowed forward and came down hard with one of it's pincers. Sora caught it with the Jungle Key, but the pincer slammed tight around it and began to shake it about, with Sora still attached to the handle. Our spiky-haired hero swallowed over a dry throat as he was jerked back and forth through the air. As he was pulled back toward the Heartless, and one of the stingers pulled back to hit, Sora spun himself around on the Jungle Key's hilt and landed a well planted kick at the scorpion's eyes. It screamed and released the Keyblade, dropping Sora unceremoniously to the ground. He leaned on the Keyblade and stood up, watching the Heartless scorpion stumble back. Finally, it regained it's senses and clacked it's pincers again, as if trying to communicate intimidation. Sora smiled slightly, causing his already cracked lips to rip open and release small amounts of blood, but he didn't notice.

The scorpion came at him again, this time with both stingers flying back and forth like a buzz saw. Sora slid up to the right stinger, swinging the Jungle Key in a circle in front of him, thus cutting off the right stinger at it's thinnest point. It fell to the sandy ground with a small thump. The Scorpion stopped moving for a moment in shock, before letting out a primeval scream and shooting forward with it's remaining stinger, pushing Sora farther and farther back. Soon enough, the Keybearer found an opening and jumped forward, landing momentarily on it's head, before leaping off into the air high above.

The Heartless, still aiming for Sora, shot out it's stinger just too late at where Sora had been: On it's head. The stinger punctured the scorpion's armor with a crack and delivered it's deadly payload directly into the Heartless' head. The beast stumbled forward, then back, and collapsed to the ground.

Sora landed on the ground hard right beside it, falling to his knees upon impact. He noticed that the Heartless hadn't dissipated, meaning that it probably was only unconscious, not dead. Sora pushed himself to his feet with the last of his adrenaline and turned the scorpion over on it's back, before plunging the Jungle Key deep into it's exposed underbelly. The beast made no sound as it disappeared into blue-black smoke.

Sora, spent, collapsed back onto his rear, more tired than ever. His body felt like it was melting from heat, burning up his skin. He looked down at his arms and, sure enough, it was tinged red up to the elbows, already sunburned.

Sora sighed, wondering if perhaps he could shoot himself with Blizzard and relieve himself of the burning.

Hey, maybe that was a good idea after all. A blizzard was a snowstorm, right? Therefore, it would be cold, and more importantly, wet, right? Sora, having lived on Destiny Islands his whole life, had never seen snow, only read about it, and was a little dark on this point.

So if he, say, shot himself in the chest, it should cool him down completely! It was flawless! Sora grinned like an idiot in the heat, splitting his lips even more.

He turned the Jungle Key around in his hands, so that it was pointed at him, and mumbled a short call of Blizzard.

A small ball of white ice formed at the end of the blade and for a split second Sora thought that maybe it hadn't been such a good idea. Then it hit him. Literally.

The ice ball plowed into his chest and broke apart on impact, sending him tumbling back, head over heels. His chest felt like it had been crushed and he was having difficulty breathing.

Finally, he came to a painful halt lying on his side. His chest was now slightly cooler, but it felt crushed and beaten. He took a painful breath and felt his head began to spin.

His last thoughts were realizing the dizziness came not from the spell casting, but from the collision.

Maybe-his head was spinning harshly now—maybe he could now cast more than one-

His mind finally closed into darkness, ushering the Keyblade Master into unconsciousness.

* * *

_I know I told some of you that I didn't plan to split up anymore worlds...well, I was mistaken. Some worlds are longer than I had thought. So there might be more splits aside from Deep Jungle and Agrabah. Definitely Hollow Bastion, though._

_Also, I realized, as of late, that by the time I get around to writing Mourning's End, it's continuity will be totally destroyed by the history in Birth By Sleep._

_But so what!_

_I'm still writing Mourning's End, it'll be something like my replacement for BBS. So there. I've thrown too many good ideas into it just to let it die because of BBS._

_So, in final, BBS is not, unless some miracle continuity wise happens, going to be a part of my "Epic of Kingdom Hearts"_

_358 Days MIGHT be, depends on if it fits my continuity. Don't see why it wouldn't, though._

_Finally, Happy-Early-Valentines Day! _

_To all couples: Have a great day! Don't waste it! Seize the Day!_

_To my fellow singles: Don't be bitter or sad! Have hope, get out there and have an awesome day!_

_~Mars_


	11. Never Had a Friend Like Me

_The second part of Agrabah is here. Hope it's good! Also, in other news, CELEBRATION FOR 1K HITS! Oh yeah! **dances**_

_Do I own Kingdom Hearts? How many languages can you say "no" in?_

* * *

_**Chapter XI: Never Had a Friend Like Me  
**__~Life is your restaurant, and I'm your maitre'd!~__  
__C'mon, whisper what it is you want!__  
__You ain't never had a friend like me!__  
__~You Ain't Never Had a Friend Like Me from Aladdin._

"What should we do with him, Abu? We might have to just leave him with some supplies if he doesn't wake up soon."

Beyond the darkness, Sora heard what sounded like a few high-pitched, raspy grunts.

"I know, but Jasmine's waiting for us back in Agrabah! And with Jafar..." the other, male voice trailed off, "I've got the lamp now, we should be able to take care of that monster!"

Sora felt his consciousness begin to catapult itself back into reality, pitch darkness became slightly less dark, intermittently interspaced with bright lights high above. Sora gradually began to feel that he was lying on his back on the sandy desert floor. He chest felt badly bruised and his arms burned and itched. What had happened? Oh, yes, he had tried to shoot himself with Blizzard. His muscles spasmed at remembering and he shot up to a sitting position. He vaguely heard a gasp from the male voice, while the other one gave a raspy scream. Sora caught a quick glimpse of what looked like a man with a brown lump on his shoulder, but his head began to spin and he fell back to his original position, staring up at what he figured to be the stars. He must've been out for awhile.

"Woah! Woah, not so fast!" the voice calmed. Soon Sora's vision was filled with the face of a young man; tanned skin, brown eyes, short, mussy black hair. The man held out a brown flask. "Have some of this."

Sora attempted to raise his hands, but they fell back to his sides. He simply grunted a little through a parched throat.

The man got the message and uncorked the flask, pouring a bit past Sora's cracked lips. Sora choked a little as the water swished down his throat, he coughed and pushed himself to a sitting position; dizziness now gone.

"Well, good to see you awake!" the black-haired stranger smiled and stood back. A brown monkey with a small maroon jacket and matching purple hat spoke in gibberish on the man's shoulder. The man himself wore only white, poofy pants with a few patches and a purple vest over his bare chest. He jerked a thumb at himself "I'm Aladdin of Agrabah, nice to meetcha!" the small monkey on his shoulder gibbered more. "And this is Abu." Aladdin rolled his eyes as the monkey rattled on, "No! I'm not introducing you as the King of Thieves!"

Sora blinked a few times and shook his head. He tried to speak but it came out as a wheeze. Aladdin nodded his head in understanding, "This desert sure is hell without water." He handed the flask over to Sora again who took it gratefully and drank deeply, draining half the flask before Aladdin grabbed it from him. "You're gonna make yourself sick! Plus, we need some for the journey back to Agrabah." he slipped it into sackcloth bag laying on the ground.

Sora wiped his chin with his the back of his hand, "I—I'm Sora. Thanks for helping me out there."

Aladdin smiled, "You're welcome, but Carpet was the one that brought you here." he pointed behind Sora.

The Keyblade Master turned slightly and saw himself staring at the same blue, purple and gold carpet that they had released from underneath the table in Aladdin's house. Right before finding Jasmine—Sora's eyes widened, suddenly remembering why he was here. "You're Aladdin? I came here to find you, Jasmine needs you back in-" he was cut off by sudden pools of darkness opening and a small cadre of Bandit Heartless appeared. Sora groaned. He ignored the pain in his chest and summoned the Jungle Key anyways. He attempted to stand, but collapsed onto his knees. The Bandits began spinning their small scimitars and approached. Aladdin watched the Bandits come closer before diving toward the sack and grabbing a small, golden lamp from within it. He rubbed it violently. "Genie! Get rid of these guys!"

Sora's eyes widened as, from the tip of the lamp, a huge amount of blue smoke shot out and a thundering roar was heard. Out of the smoke appeared a huge blue being, with a small, wispy black beard and a tiny bit of black hair tied back. Two golden bangles were wrapped around it's wrists and it's body ended not in legs, but in a light blue wisp. A red sash was wrapped around it's waist. "Wish Numbah One, coming riiiiiight up!" it yelled and clapped it's hands. The Heartless disappeared in a flash of blue smoke and the being stretched it's arms above it's head. "Too easy." it sighed as it placed it's large blue hands behind it's head and floated lazily to the ground.

"Sora, this is-" Aladdin began.

The blue being waved Aladdin off and smiled wide, "Please, kid, leave the intros to a professional!" with a swing of his giant hand, fireworks shot off into the night sky, exploding in grand, colorful displays, "The one, the only: GENIE OF THE LAMP!" the Genie swung his arms out wide at the hight of the explosion, causing the stars to rearrange themselves to spell 'Genie', before disappearing in a puff of smoke; only to reappear, much smaller, out of the top of the lamp, still in Aladdin's hand, "Rub-a-dub-dub the lamp and have your dearest wishes granted!" Genie disappeared again, reappearing wearing a blue suit and holding a microphone, "Today's lucky winner is...Aladdin! Congratulations!" he pumped Aladdin's hand up and down vigorously.

"So," Aladdin straightened his vest and brushed himself off, "What were you saying about Jasmine?"

Sora's mind again snapped back to the matter at hand back in Agrabah. "Oh, right! She's in trouble Aladdin! Jafar's found her. Two friends of mine are back there looking for her." Sora massaged his chest, "But I don't know if they'll be able to stop him."

Aladdin's eyes widened, "She—She's—we need to get back to Agrabah!" he grabbed his sack and slung it over his shoulder. "Carpet! Let's go!"

* * *

Carpet sped across the desert carrying Sora, Aladdin and Abu over the endless sands below. Genie flew beside them, arms outstretched.

Sora winced as Aladdin applied a bit of stinging ointment to the burns on his arms, "So—Ow! What were you doing out here, Aladdin?"

Aladdin looked up from Sora's left arm, "I was visiting the Cave of Wonders, I'd found Carpet there before, so maybe there was something else there that could help me n' Jasmine." he went back to rubbing the ointment onto the red skin. "Sure enough, I found the lamp."

"So, Genie, you can really grant any wish?" Sora looked up at the Genie gliding around care-free.

"Oh yeah! Any three wishes!" Genie split into three clones of himself at the word 'three', "But, first, I can't kill anyone." one of the three Genie's slid his finger across his neck, his head falling off before disappearing in a puff of smoke. "Second! I can't make people fall in love." the second Genie's eyebrow's grew long and he blinked rapidly before placing his hands over his heart and drifting lazily back and forth into the ground. "Third! I can't bring people back from the dead." at this, the final Genie turned a sickly shade of pale green, huge yellow eyes bulging from their sockets, "It's not a pretty picture! I don't like doing it!" in a puff of blue smoke, the Genie returned to normal. "After three wishes I make like a banana and split! Our lucky winner here," he grabbed Aladdin, who had just placed the ointment back into the sack, and gave him a noogie. "Has already made his first wish—so he has TWO left! So, Master, what'll you have for Wish Number Two?" Genie cracked his fingers.

Aladdin, caught in the moment, leaned back on Carpet and smiled, Abu nestling onto his stomach."How about...making me a fabulously wealthy prince!"

"Woah! Money! Royalty! Fame!" Genie spun in the air, "Why didn't I think of that? Al, we're gonna make you a star! Your princess will LOVE this-" Genie began to swing his arms around.

The mention of Jasmine seemed to wake Aladdin up, "Wait! I think I'll put that on hold till we reach Agrabah. Then we'll see what's happening."

Genie's arms fell back to his sides. He nodded and began to soar about again.

"Why a Prince, though, Aladdin?" Sora asked, still seeing Agrabah no where in sight.

"Well..." Aladdin rubbed the back of his neck, "Jasmine...she's...well, she's a princess and I'm just a-" he let out a big sigh, "She could never fall for a guy like me."

"You never know."Sora smiled knowingly, "Maybe she woul-"

Carpet suddenly spun erratically, pushed by an updraft from Genie speeding by again.

"Ah! The fresh air! The great outdoors!" Genie yelled as he spun about. He began snapping pictures haphazardly of the desert landscape with a camera that had appeared from nowhere.

Sora gripped tightly onto Carpet as it righted itself, before sighing and shaking his head, "You don't get out much, huh?"

Genie did a final loop-de-loop before flying parallel with Carpet. "Comes with the job, my spikey-haired friend!" Genie spun about and became huge and muscular, galaxies spun around him and trails of light followed from his every movement, "Phenomenal cosmic powers!" he spun again and disappeared into the lamp. A squeaky voice came from inside. "Itty-bitty living space."

"Wow, that's terrible." Sora exclaimed.

Genie appeared in front of the Keybearer and grabbed hold of the boy's jacket, lifting him into the air, "It's always: 'Poof! What do you need?" he shook Sora, "Poof! What do you need?" Genie threw his hands into the air, dropping Sora back onto the still-moving Carpet. "Poof! What do you neeeed?"

Sora straightened his jacket and looked back at Genie.

"It's always three wishes and then back to my portable prison...I'm lucky to see the light of day every century or two..." The Genie sighed and returned to soaring.

"Say, Genie..." Aladdin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What if...what if I use my last wish to free you from the Lamp? What do you say about that?"

Genie stopped flying mid-air, his mouth gaping open. "Y—Y-You'd do THAT?"

Aladdin smiled and looked in the direction of Agrabah, which had just appeared over the horizon. "Genie, it's a promise. After we help Jasmine."

Genie's booming laugh was heard all across the twilight desert, as was Aladdin's muffled yells of "Put me down, Genie! I can't breathe!"

Followed by Genie's, "But you're talking, little buddy!"

* * *

Sora stood gaping up at the towering palace of the Sultan. The Palace, which was as large as the city itself, was made up of huge towers of white marble, topped with golden domes. The gold threw off a brilliant glint in the early morning sun, which was just peaking up from behind the extravagant castle. Sora and Aladdin had met up with Goofy and Donald at Aladdin's house, only to find that they had never found Jasmine after Sora left, even after looking the whole day. Not that anyone blamed them, the city was, for all practical purposes, a maze of sand, tan hovels, and sun. They had decided that Jafar most likely had taken Jasmine to the Palace, if he had indeed found her at all. Either way, they were sure to find something there. They had eluded, or defeated, the few guards that they had run into and now the four of them stood in front of the inside wall of the Palace. Aladdin pulled a grappling hook from his pack and began to build up power by spinning it. Sora didn't want to know how Aladdin had gotten his hands on a grappling hook of all things.

"So," Aladdin spoke softly without taking his eyes off the top of the wall, "Jafar is after Jasmine and this 'Keyhole'?"

"Keyhole, eh?" Genie boomed as he burst from his lamp in a flourish of smoke.

Donald pointed his staff at the Genie and whispered a harsh "Shhhh!"

Genie covered his mouth in acknowledgement, "I coodswarI'vehaardboutthutbifor" he muffled.

Somehow, Goofy understood what Genie had said, Sora assumed it was just a Goofy thing, "Gawrsh!" the dog-man whispered, "You've heard 'bout the Keyhole before? Where?"

Genie suddenly spun and became a librarian. Large glasses sat poised on the bridge of his nose, and a bun of graying brown hair piled on his head. A row of books emerged from the ground behind him. He turned and glided between the bookcases, every now and then pulling out a book and flipping through it before throwing it over his shoulder.

"Now...where was it?" he sneezed when he came to a particularly dusty book, "It's only been 200 years..."

A soft clank interrupted Genie searching, followed by a "Got it!" from Aladdin after successfully catching the grappling line on the crest of the wall. He tugged at it.

"Let's go!" he began scaling the wall, followed by Sora and Goofy. Donald has trouble pulling himself up, much to his anger, and had to be pulled.

As the group reached reached the top of the wall, they heard Genie still rifling through his books.

"Hey, Al! Look!" Genie whispered loudly, waving a small book over his head excitedly, "It's the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy!"

"Genie!" Aladdin rolled his eyes. "C'mon! We gotta find Jasmine!"

Genie sighed and threw the book into the giant pile behind him; then snapped his fingers, making them all disappear. "Don't panic, Al! She's bound to be here!" Genie disappeared into the lamp.

Aladdin quickly reversed the grappling hook and the group rappelled down to the ground. Upon touchdown, though, a voice echoed across the courtyard.

"Setting your sights a little high, aren't you, boy?" Sora whipped around to find himself staring at Jafar, standing, nose upturned, on the steps up to the Palace. A red parrot sat on his shoulder. The sorcerer waved his staff and Jasmine was pushed from inside the darkness of the Palace Entrance. She stumbled roughly down the steps, her arms bound behind her. As she fell past Jafar, his hand snapped out and grabbed her by the braid of her hair and pulled her back up near him. Aladdin stood in shock.

Jafar nodded at Aladdin, before waving him off with his staff, "Now then, back to your hole, street rat. I wanted only for you to glimpse on your princess in despair. You shall trouble her no longer."

Aladdin broke from his shock and began to run forward.

A tear rolled down Jasmine's cheek as she watched Aladdin run towards her. She smiled sadly and few more tears fell, "I'm so sorry...Aladdin..." she mumbled before her eyes rolled back in her head, surrendering her to unconsciousness.

Those words hit Aladdin like a freight train. He stopped short. She was...sorry? For what? HE was the one who should be sorry! He had left her alone! how could she...what had he done...

Aladdin fell to his knees and stared at the ground, biting his lip. What could he do now?

Suddenly, a smug smile formed on his face. He still had lamp. He grabbed it from the sack on his shoulder and rubbed it quickly. "Genie! Get Jasmine out of this! Help her, please!"

Jafar blinked rapidly, staring at the lamp in shock. In this moment, Genie swooped in from the lamp and grabbed Jasmine's unconscious form in both arms.

"One wish left!" he smiled as he flew up into the air. "You're making this really easy, you know?"

* * *

Sora had watched this whole scene, wondering what he should do. He knew he wanted to bust Jafar's head in for what he had done. Thankfully, Aladdin had used the lamp and Jasmine was safe now. Sora looked back smugly at Jafar, but noticed something different there. Where had his parrot gone?

* * *

Aladdin closed his eyes and sighed in relief. The Genie had Jasmine. Now they just had to—suddenly, he felt the lamp disappear from his grasp. He spun around quickly to find nothing in his hands and nothing behind him. No lamp.

He looked back at Jafar, only to see his parrot, Iago, dropping it into Jafar's bony fingers. Jafar cackled and rubbed the lamp. "So sorry, boy, I'm afraid your second wish has been denied!"

Genie's jaw dropped at the sudden switch. He mouth worked up and down a few times. "I'm..I'm sorry...Al..."

Genie disappeared into the lamp with a flash and Jasmine's body hung in the air for a few terrifying seconds, before dropping hard to the ground with a crunch. Aladdin began to run over to her.

Jafar turned the lamp around in his hands, "So, boy, you found the legendary Lamp? How wonderful. I'll be sure to put it do good use."

Aladdin slid to a stop beside Jasmine and looked up at Jafar "I didn't get it for you, you sick son of a-" he bit out before Jafar interrupted him.

"Now, now, boy! Really!" Jafar turned and looked over all the people in the courtyard, "I bid you all farewell!" he waved his staff above his head. "Attack!"

From the inside of the palace, and the darkened corners of the courtyard, Bandit Heartless stepped out into the early morning light. Jafar chuckled and waved his staff again, disappearing into darkness. A small pool of the same dark appeared below Jasmine's body as Aladdin reached out for her. She fell into it and Aladdin found himself grasping at nothing as the portal closed as quickly as it had appeared. The young man stared blankly at where the girl he loved had just been.

Sora swallowed and ran forward with Donald and Goofy, surrounding Aladdin and calling the Jungle Key to his hand. He looked over at Donald and Goofy. "Let's do this, then we'll go after Jafar, wherever he is."

The first bandit Heartless jumped at Sora's face, scimitars swinging. The Keyblade Master easily dispatched of it. Next, Donald called down a rain of Thunder upon the group of Heartless coming from the Palace, easily eliminating them. After batting away two more Heartless, Sora rolled his eyes at how simple these were. After a few more moments, none were left in the courtyard. Sora brushed his face and, after seeing that Donald and Goofy were okay, looked back at Aladdin who was pulling himself to his feet, jaw firm and eyes determined.

"He's heading to the Cave of Wonders." Aladdin said simply. "We need to get Carpet."

The young man turned and began walking back to the grappling hook, which was still attached to the wall. Sora watched him go, wondering how he knew that was where Jafar was. He shrugged. People knew crazy things when the person whey love is taken from them. Do crazy things. A small blush crept across Sora's face.

Like trek across the galaxy to find them.

* * *

_Ooh! Three parts to Agrabah! Whooda guessed?_

_Now, the other day, I was bored. So I decided to fight KHII Sephy at Level 67 with the Kingdom Key. I beat him. Then I tried it with the same level and the Sweet Memories Keyblade(the one with zero strength? Yeah, that one.) and beat him again. I'm afraid Sephiroth has no more challenge for me.  
MAN. I wish I had the Final Mix. I want to fight Terra!_

_Also, for those of you who have never seen this awesomeness, go to YouTube and look up "Dead Fantasy 1 and 2" and prepare yourself for one of the best fight scenes ever seen in your life. And the third one is still coming!_

_Anyways, up next is The Cave of Wonders and the Finale of Agrabah!_

_Be careful what you wish for!  
~Mars_


	12. Careful What You Wish For

_I don't own Kingdom Hearts, got it? Now, let's finish up Agrabah, shall we?_

* * *

_**Chapter XII: Be Careful What You Wish For**_

_Wishing is good for us. Daydreams, fantasies, castles in the air, and aspirations all drive us forward, impel us to make things happen. They also tell us a lot about ourselves. Our wishes come straight from our core._

_~Unknown_

Sora stood in the desert in front a huge tiger head made of hardened sand. Two large, glowing yellow eyes sat perched above the monstrous, yawning entrance that was the Cave of Wonder's mouth. It was a bit before noon and the sun was just creeping to it's highest point, casting a glare off the desert behind them.

Donald and Goofy stood next to Sora, whilst Aladdin stood a few feet ahead, scimitar strapped to his back, Abu sitting comfortably on his shoulder. The young man hadn't spoken more than a few sentences since Jafar disappeared with Jasmine. Sora had been attempting to get him to talk, but to no avail.

"GAH! What are we waiting for?!" Donald rolled his eyes and pushed up invisible sleeves before stepping forward into the glow that emanated from within the Cave.

"Who dares disturb my slumber?" the huge tiger head growled in a deep voice that shook the sand under their feet. Donald screamed and dove behind Goofy, which wasn't much protection since Goofy was down on all fours himself; his attempt at hiding. Aladdin stood undeterred, having barely even moved.

"It's Aladdin. The diamond in the rough."

The tiger head paused. "You may enter."

Aladdin, without missing a step, walked forward, then up and over the sand tiger's teeth and lips. Sora, Donald and Goofy followed cautiously. They found themselves on a precarious stairway that twisted and turned above a dark abyss. Donald gulped and, right before taking the first step, told Sora he could go first.

"So, uh, Aladdin." Sora watched his steps carefully, speaking up since Aladdin was already a way's down. "What do you have in mind when we find Jafar?"

"We beat him and get Jasmine."

Sora lost and re-caught his balance, heart racing. "So what's between us and them?"

"Traps and puzzles."

"So not only do we have to travel down stupid, dangerous stairs, but we have to solve puzzles and dodge traps?!" Donald sufficed with a sigh, remembering not to stomp his foot on such footing that he had. "Why did I come!"

Sora scoffed at his friend before realizing Aladdin hadn't answered. That man was determined. He hadn't even acknowledged Donald's complaints. Sora could feel for Aladdin though, he had seen Kairi disappear before his eyes too. But, then again, Aladdin loved Jasmine. Did that mean something for him? What about Kairi?

Sora shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts. He soon found himself on firm footing in a long, wide hallway filled with gruesome statues on either side. It was as if the artists had gotten together and decided to make the most deformed statues they possibly could. Each statue held a long sword or axe in front of it, carved into sandstone. Between each statue was a torch, glaring at them angrily against the wall.

Donald and Goofy soon stepped off the meandering staircase and watched as Aladdin stepped into the hallway. As soon as his right foot landed on the rough floor, the hallway began to shake and small bits of stone sprinkled to the floor as the statues began to rip themselves off the wall.

Well, here was one of those traps.

Sora called the Jungle Key to his hand and lept at the first one, knocking it's deformed rock head off, shattering it against the wall. At least, it looked sort of like a head. The rest of the body crumbled into a pile of pebbles. An axe-wielding one came at Sora next, but Aladdin stepped in with his scimitar and fought it for himself. Donald and Goofy started attacking, as well, Donald with blast of magic and Goofy attempting to push them back, with his shield, into the the neverending darkness below the staircase.

Sora ducked below the swipe of one ape-looking statue's sword, before charging it's body. He was repelled easily. As he stood to his feet, he blocked a horizontal slash from the statue, but was thrown backwards again, tumbling head-over-heels toward the edge of the chasm. He ground to a halt right before falling, knocking a few pebbles off the edge. He turned back and saw the ape-statue clunking toward him, raising it's rocky sword high. Something was pressing against his leg. He readied the Keyblade against the oncoming attack and reached into a pocket. He felt his hands wrap around a small orb.

The Summon Charm?

Sora remembered Merlin's words about the small sphere and pulled it from his pocket. The green ball glowed slightly in his hand. Now, how did he use it? He looked up and saw the statue still coming. He looked back at the chasm before turning the sphere around the sphere in his hand. Was there a button? A lock? Did he shake it? The statue was still coming.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Sora whispered, continuing to search the small surface of the charm, "What do I press?" In his other hand, he felt the Keyblade tugging toward the small ball of green. Then the thought came to him. What if he had to unlock it?

Sora smiled, that had to be it.

The statue was only a few feet away now.

At least, he hoped that was the way.

Sora threw the glowing sphere into the air above him and pointed the Keyblade at it. He twisted the blade slightly to the right and the sphere exploded in bright light, bathing the hallway in an olive green. Time slowed to a stop for Sora. Out of the light stepped a tan-furred lion, red mane crowning it's head. It looked around confusedly.

"Where...where am I?"

It spoke. Sora wasn't too surprised. This type of thing was quickly becoming normal.

"You're in Agrabah. I'm Sora."

The lion now looked at Sora full on, "What am I doing here? Last I remember, Timon and I were having a bug slurping contest..." Sora shuddered."But it started to rain..."

"I think your world was...." Sora dropped his head and scuffed his feet before looking back up and meeting the lion's eyes in sympathy, "destroyed..."

Pain flashed through the lion's eyes, but only for a moment. It nodded.

"Is there any way I can get it back?"

Sora was stunned at the lion's calm. He was just told his home was destroyed? Why wasn't he worried? It was his HOME they were talking about. Had he just buried the pain? What had this lion been through that would keep him from freaking out when his home was destroyed?

"Is there any way I can get it back?" the lion asked again.

"I...I don't know." Sora sighed, "But we might, I dunno, if you help me out here."

The lion looked around at the statue monsters who were still frozen in time.

"I'm Simba, and if you promise to do all you can to get my world back, I will help you Sora."

Sora nodded, "I promise. I'll do whatever it takes!"

Simba smiled. "Well then, let me take a shot at them!" he opened his mouth wide and roared a roar that shook the hallway, Sora could all but see the shockwaves reverberating from the lion's mouth. Suddenly, starting at the far end of the hallway, time began to revert and, as in a wave, the rock statues exploded into tiny fragments of stone, falling to the ground in piles.

"Why aren't you worried about your home?" Sora yelled as time's wave came closer.

Simba's eyes reflected pain again, and again only for a moment, but he smiled, "Hakuna Matata."

Before Sora was able to ask what that meant, time completely reverted, leaving a confused Aladdin and Goofy and an angry Donald standing around piles of rock. The green summon orb fells to the ground, bounced twice, and rolled to a stop at Sora's shoe. He reached down and pocketed it again.

"What was that?!" Donald quacked angrily.

"Just the summon charm Leon gave me." Sora smiled. "Guess it works."

Aladdin didn't ask who Leon was, he just continued on his way down the hall. Sora's smiled faded as he watched the young man. He was still on a single-course: Find Jasmine. Sora sighed after him and continued on his way, but before he passed into the room beyond, the floor in front of him retracted and a treasure chest was brought up through it. Goofy and Donald gasped behind him, while Aladdin looked back in disinterest. Abu, on the other hand, watched the chest greedily from Aladdin's shoulder.

Sora reached down and pulled open the chest. Only a single item rested in the center of it. A small, red sphere; very similar to Simba's charm. Another summon orb? Sora reached down and grabbed it and the chest retracted back into the floor.

But, then, the floor lowered and tipped, and our heroes found themselves, accompanied by Donald's screams, sliding down a smooth, rock slide. Deeper and deeper into the Cave they sped, stalactites whisked by, while below them lava bubbled. When they came to a stop, they were standing before a large stone wall; completely smooth except for a small sentence etched into the it. Goofy squinted and read.

"_One man, dear Traveler, had twelve sticks in front of him. He took one away and now has nine in front of him. _

_Riddle the Cave this: How can it be?"_

"Gawrsh," Goofy started counting on his fingers, "I need twelve fingers, Sora, can yah help me?"

"Bah! Out of my way!" Donald shoved Goofy to the side and looked up at the writing, humming softly to himself. "Stupid riddles..."

Aladdin looked once at the riddle then leaned against the wall and slid to the stone floor. Sora guessed, or at least hoped, he was thinking about the riddle. The young boy looked back over Donald to the wall. If only Kairi was here, she had always been good at riddles. He on the other hand...

"This is stupid!" Donald stomped his foot and sat next to Goofy. "The riddle doesn't have an answer!"

Sora sat back against the edge of the slide, directly across from the writing and put his mind to work. He may have never been to good at riddles, but he would figu--

_The sticks left are in the shape of the word nine._

"Wa-what?" The answer came in a clear whisper. Sora shook his head and looked around quickly.

_The answer is that the sticks are in the shape of the word nine! C'mon, Sora!_

Sora tilted his head, "Do you guys hear that?"

"Hear what, Sora?" Goofy asked.

_Sora! That's the answer! Just say it already!_

"Hear what now, Sora?" Donald was looking at Sora now too.

"I, uh, the answer is, uh, the sticks were in the shape of the word nine?"

The room shook and everyone jumped to their feet. A crack appeared across the smooth wall and formed a square. The partition of the wall with the writing slid back and across, disappearing into darkness. The darkness was soon lit by torches that came alive on their own, slowly lighting a long hallway.

Donald gaped, "How'd you figure that out?!"

"Good job, Sora!" Goofy slapped him on the back, "You figured it out!"

"Whodda thought it..." Donald mumbled.

"I...I don't think it was me..." Sora began, but Aladdin interrupted while peering down the hallway.

"Right now, I don't think it matters who it was. We can get through now. Let's go."

* * *

Jafar stood on a raised platform in the deepest center of the Cave of Wonders. Smaller platforms dotted the edges circular room in symmetrical fashion. The ceiling stretched far above, ending in a craggy roof. At his feet lay the unconscious Princess, where he thought she deserved to be, and a distraught and downtrodden Genie floated weakly beside him.

Jafar lifted the golden lamp in the air, "My second wish, Genie! Reveal to me the Keyhole!"

Without looking up from the floor, Genie half-heartedly lifted a hand and snapped. At the northern end of the room, the rock wall exploded in chips of stone. A short, rough-hewn sandstone stair led a few feet up to a deep indentation in the wall; an indentation in the shape of a large Keyhole. Further within it was the actual Keyhole: A small, two by four hole cleansed in black. Such theatrics for such a small thing. Jafar began to chuckle, but his voice soon broke into an all-out cackle.

Let those fools come, he had the Genie.

And now he had the Keyhole.

* * *

Sora swung his new Keyblade a bit in his hands. After passing through a few more tests and traps, they had found a chest containing a Keychain. Upon attaching it to the Jungle Key, the Blade's appearance had changed. Now, it was pure gold with a wicked-looking hook blade at the end. It was sharpened on both sides, and the hilt was similar to the Jungle Key's, only dissimilar in that it was now gold. The Keybchain itself was a small lamp, very much similar to that of the Genie's.

They were now looking into a short hallway, but this hallway differed from the many before in that every two or three feet, a guillotine slid from the ceiling to the floor and back into the ceiling. It did this quite rhythmically and one could probably set a beat to it, if one was so inclined.

"There should be a switch to turn them off at the end of the hallway" Aladdin said, "I'll get through and shut it off. Then we'll pass."

"Uh...you sure you can do that, Aladdin?" Sora gulped and watched the closest blade fall to the floor.

Aladdin nodded, "You'd be surprised at what you have to dodge when living on the streets." he then took a step forward, took a few breaths, and ran under the first guillotine whilst it was up. It crashed down nanoseconds later. He continued through, with a few close calls, and soon reached the other side. Sure enough, he pushed in a brick on the wall and the guillotines all slid into the ceiling. Aladdin beckoned for them to follow him. As they stepped forward, the room shook and chest slid out of the wall. Inside were two sheets of paper. One looked to be torn from a book, the other was printed neatly and was titled, 'Ansem's Report 1'

"Gawrsh! It's Ansem's Report!" Goofy spoke excitedly over Sora's shoulder.

"We really found part of it?!" Donald quacked in disbelief, "What's the other one?"

Sora examined it, "I dunno...it's got a picture of a forest and a big tree with a door in it. There are some words on the bottom, but I can't read them."

"Looks like somebody ripped it outta a book!" Goofy motioned toward the jagged edges of the paper.

Donald stroked his feathered chin, "Could it be part of Merlin's special book? The one with the torn pages?"

Sora shrugged and pocketed both pages for closer examination on the Gummi Ship., "Maybe, we'll have to see later."

"So...are we ready to keep going? Jafar's close, I can feel it." Aladdin again motioned for them to follow him down the spiraling flight of stairs beyond the hall.

At the bottom of the large flight of stairs, they found themselves in a room filled with piles of gold. A small path led through the midst of stacks of coins, gems, and statues holding more, larger, gems. The room glowed with a bright yellow hue from all the gold and jewels.

Eventually, they were able to maneuver through the blinding glare and, upon reaching the other side, found Donald and Abu holding armfuls of the gold. After returning it, since it would only hinder them, they moved onward into a spacious circular room filled with platforms on the edges and one large one in the middle. Standing in front of a grand, Keyhole shaped indentation in the far wall were two figures. One was Jafar, Iago, his parrot, perched on his shoulder. He was talking to someone, a woman dressed all in black robes who held a long, green-tipped staff in her hands.

"That boy again?" the staff-holding woman frowned, "We still need more time before the Heartless can absorb this world."

Jafar shrugged, "He's more persistent than I expected. Why not explain the situation to that boy Ri--" It was at this time that Jafar noticed that his companion was no longer focused on what he was saying, but was now looking to the other side of the room.

Jafar turned and caught sight of Sora, Aladdin, Donald and Goofy entering the room. Sora ran forward to confront them.

"Are..." Sora looked at the woman, "Are you Maleficent?"

The woman said nothing, studying Sora for a moment before disappearing into darkness. Sora watched where she had been as Aladdin ran forward toward the evil Vizier.

"Jafar! Let Jasmine go!!"

"Not a chance," Jafar scoffed, "You see, she's a princess—one of seven who somehow hold the key to opening The Door."

This gave pause to Aladdin for a moment.

"Open?" Goofy quirked his head.

"The door?" Donald wondered.

Jafar rolled his eyes, "But you fools won't live to see what lies beyond it." he pulled the lamp out from within in his robes and rubbed it. "Genie! My second wish: erase their foolish existence!"

At this, Aladdin smiled slightly as if he knew some great secret.

Genie limply emerged from the lamp and looked at Jafar. He spoke in a monotone voice, "I can't. It's a rule of Genie-hood: I can't kill anyone."

"Well then..." Jafar grabbed Genie's beard and pulled him close, spittle flying from his lips. "Let's see what they can live through!!"

At this Aladdin scowled, "Genie! No, don't!"

"I—I'm sorry Al...the one with the lamp calls the shots...I don't have a choice..." Genie sighed and slowly floated forward toward Sora. The Keyblade Master easily moved out of the way of Genie's slow approach. Jafar's eyes narrowed.

"Move faster, you imbecile!"

Genie acknowledged the Vizier with only a slight speed-up. Aladdin was stealthily moving toward Jafar, aiming for Jasmine's unconscious body. Genie continued to aimlessly follow Sora around. Aladdin reached Jafar's platform just as the man lost his temper.

"I said attack them! I am your Master! You must obey me!"

Genie shrugged, "I can't catch them."

Jafar's mouth worked up and down, "Destroy them!!"

Aladdin crouched behind Jafar and moved slowly forward toward the Keyhole and Jasmine. Meanwhile, Jafar noticed that one of the simpletons were missing. He quickly turned and caught sight of Aladdin moving toward Jasmine. With a great swing, he smacked Aladdin over the head with his golden staff, sending him falling sideways into a roll. The young man came up, sitting with his back against the far wall of the chamber.

"Well, well, Street Rat." Jafar sneered, turning from the non-carnage behind him. "What does it feel like? So very close yet so very, very far." he raised his staff for another blow. "And now...I have you completely in my ultimate power. Your time of interference has come to an end!"

Suddenly a light went on in Aladdin's head and he weakly grunted one phrase.

"The Genie has more power than you'll ever have."

This gave Jafar pause. From across the room, Sora, Donald and Goofy stopped and looked over at the far platform. Genie ceased chasing them and peeked over as well.

"Al...what are you doing? Why are you bringing me into this?"

Aladdin took a breath and put a hand on the growing welt on the back of his head. "The Genie...could strip you of all your powers right now."

Jafar studied Aladdin closely, before looking back at the Genie.

"The boy states the truth..." he muttered, "The Genie's power does exceed my own!"

He turned and smirked at the rest of the room full-on, "Genie! I make my final wish! I want you to make me an all-powerful Genie!"

Sora balked. What was Aladdin thinking? Had Jafar's blow addled his brains?

"What are you doing?!?!" Donald screamed and waved his arms at the young man. Aladdin just smiled slightly.

Genie looked sadly at Aladdin before sighing. "All right...your wish is my command." he glared at Aladdin. "Nice going, Al."

The 'Street Rat' just smiled again.

Genie pointed a finger at Jafar, covered his eyes with his other hand, and fired a small bolt of magic at the sorcerer. It hit Jafar and he stumbled back, glowing with an otherworldly light. The light grew and grew; soon destroying the ceiling, sending rock crashing down below. From the light emerged a huge, red Genie with glowing yellow eyes. The Genie-Jafar grinned wide and spun his hand around, leaving small trails of light behind him.

"Pooooweeer!" it rumbled, causing the room to shake and dislodging more of the walls and ceiling. "Absolute power!"

Genie cowered in the side of the room with Donald and Goofy. Sora used his hand to block the light and saw Aladdin stumbling to his feet. At the wispy end of the Genie-Jafar's red tail, a black lamp identical to Genie's, appeared. Right then Sora knew what Aladdin had planned in that mind of his that had been honed by years of surviving on the streets.

"Hey Jafar!" Aladdin grinned, "You wanted to be a Genie? You got it! And everything that goes with it!"

Suddenly, two golden bangles appeared on Genie-Jafar's arms. He looked at them in confusion before glancing down at Aladdin who was holding his ink-black lamp. Aladdin held it up high and it's power began to pull Genie-Jafar in. The red monster wailed and clawed at the air as it's body spun violently toward it's black prison.

Among the wails and screams, one sentence was made clear before it disappeared entirely in a puff of smoke:

"How...? By a pack of filthy street rats!"

"Phenomenal cosmic power, itty-bitty living space." Aladdin quipped as he held the Black Lamp in his hands, room now quiet.

Genie sped over and grabbed Aladdin around the neck, followed by a noogie, "Why you little! My boy outsmarted the evil bad-guy!" he then grabbed the Lamp from Aladdin's hands and snapped his fingers, immediately surrounding it in a lead safe. Then he snapped again, surrounding that safe in another safe. Another snap, and a small-closet sized wooden box appeared around it, followed by a deadbolt slamming home. Yet another snap and a giant shoe-box appeared around it. A few more safes and duct-tape later, a huge monstrosity of locking power sat in the middle of chamber.

Meanwhile, Sora conjured up the Desert Keyblade and locked the small Keyhole. It dissolved in golden dust leaving nothing but a blank, Keyhole-shaped indentation in the wall.

"Now," Aladdin smiled, overjoyed at having beaten Jafar, "Let's get Jasmine and get out--" he fell to stunned silence when he looked about and Jasmine was nowhere to be seen, awake or unconscious. The young man said absolutely nothing, but his eyes didn't; his eyes said everything. He had fought all the way here, outsmarted Jafar and risked the world, only to lose her again and, this time, he didn't even know how or why. Had she wandered off? Doubtful. Had someone kidnapped her again? Someone after 'the Door' Jafar had spoken about? Who knows.

Aladdin just numbly rubbed the welt that had formed on the back of his head while Genie put a comforting arm around him.

"Let's...let's get out of here."

* * *

They had looked everywhere while exiting the cave, but Jasmine was still no where to be seen. Aladdin intended to go visit her father, the Sultan, and explain all that had happened. The ruler probably would want to search for her himself, anyways. Other than that, Aladdin had returned to his silent state, just looking around for Jasmine in a dull shock.

They were now back at Aladdin's hovel, Sora was leaning against the desk. Donald and Goofy were standing off to the side and Aladdin sat on the steps in front of the destroyed wall that looked out over the city, head in his hands. Silence reigned.

"Aladdin...I promise...we'll find Jasmine. If Maleficent took her, we'll find her."

Aladdin made no response.

Genie came up beside him and waved his hand in front of Aladdin's head. "Uh, hello? Earth to Al! Hello? You still have one wish left!" After Aladdin made no response, Genie sighed and pulled Aladdin's head up to meet his eyes. "Look...just say the word! Ask me to find Jasmine for you!"

Aladdin trembled slightly, "I—I--"

"Look, Al" Genie smiled compassionately, "You're never gonna find another girl like her in a million years!" he placed his great blue hand over his heart, if Genie's indeed had blood-pumping hearts,"Trust me, I've looked."

"I-" Aladdin paused and closed his eyes. "I, I wish for your freedom Genie!"

Genie's jaw dropped. Sora jumped to his feet in surprise. Aladdin had just given up a free ticket to Jasmine to fulfill a promise.

Genie's wispy tails separated and became two legs. His wrist bangles disappeared and his lamp, which had been sitting on the desk, vanished as if it had never existed.

The now-free Genie looked at himself for a few moments, before screaming in happiness and zinging around the room like a pinball. He came to a stop in front of Sora and shook him by his jacket.

"Wish for something crazy! Just say it! Say "I wish for the Nile!" he grinned wide and continued shaking the Keyblade Master.

Sora raised his eyebrows. "I...I wish for the Nile?"

"No Way!" Genie yelled in his face triumphantly. "Haha! I'm freeeeee!" Genie's excitement came to an abrupt stop when he saw Aladdin still looking at his hands.

"Al..I.." he began.

"A deal's a deal, Genie." Aladdin interrupted. "You're free now. You can go anywhere you want."

Genie smiled gratefully.

"But...it would be, you know, great if you could, somehow, help Sora find Jasmine."

"That...I can do." Genie spun and waved his hands a few times before jerking them in Sora's direction. The boy felt a new knowledge enter his body.

Genie nearly exploded in happiness. "I've taught your mind to use your Fire and Blizzard spells in an upgraded way: Fira and Blizzaga." Genie chuckled slyly. "And I've thrown in a whole other spell: Reflect."

"Thanks, Genie!" Sora chorused.

"Ah, but that's not all!" Genie poofed and he now sat before a small, round table. On it sat a crystal ball. Genie himself was dressed in a red turban and colorful shawls. He waved his hands around the ball. "And for today's fortune..." Genie raised an eyebrow. "Beware of whales? What?" the table and clothing disappeared in a flash. "That can't be right..."

Sora shook his head and looked at Aladdin, who took a deep breath and leaned back.

"Please, Sora, find her. And bring her back."

Sora smiled encouragingly and looked over at Donald and Goofy, who nodded back at him. It was time to leave.

* * *

"That smarmy Vizier coulda had 'em...if someone got there sooner and gave him a hand." Hades shifted his gaze over to Riku, who leaned back against the table in the middle of the great stone Castle Chapel of Hollow Bastion.

"Hey, I did my part. I brought the Princess, didn't I?" Riku looked over at Jasmine, entombed in a floating gray casket with a pane of glass for a cover. It had **Number V **engraved at it's foot.

"Jafar was beyond help, consumed by his own hatred." Maleficent looked up from studying the tip of her staff. "One should beware of letting it burn too fiercely."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Lighten up, I'm as cool as they come, okay?" Hades put his hands up in defense before turning to Riku. "By the way, kid, have we got something special for you."

Riku cocked his head. "Hm?"

"We had a deal, yes? You help us, and we grant you your wish..." Maleficent waved her staff and an image of a seemingly sleeping Kairi appeared on the table. Riku jumped away from the table and looked at the hologram.

"Kairi?!" Riku exclaimed, surprised that they were letting him see her so soon.

"Go to her. Your vessel is waiting." Maleficent spoke off-handidly.

Riku turned, hearing steps come up the darkened hallway. Out of it stepped Captain Hook. A well-to-do Pirate dressed in a red frock. A maroon hat with a large feather sat atop his long, black hair. At his waist was sheathed a long rapier. A pointed mustache stuck upwards on his upper lip and, in place of his left hand, was a silver hook. He spoke in a nasally British accent.

"Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise! It won't be a pretty voyage." He brandished his hook wickedly.

Riku turned back to Maleficent. This was too good. "Why are you doing all this for me? What's the catch?"

"Catch? What's the catch?" Maleficent spoke as though a 'catch' was completely foreign to her. "Silly boy, you're like a son to me." she put her cold hand against his cheek. Riku felt as though a skeleton had touched him, leaving nothing but bitter cold. "I only want you to be happy."

Riku stepped back, knocking away Maleficent's skeleton-hand in the process. "I seriously doubt that."

Maleficent shrugged and turned away from him. "Believe what you wish. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain."

Riku bothered himself with Maleficent no more and turned to leave with Captain Hook.

* * *

* * *

* * *

_**The Report of Ansem the Wise: Studies into the Heart.**_

_Much of my life has been dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. That knowledge has guarded this world well. Not a soul doubts I am blessed with my people's smiles and respect. But though I am called a Sage, there are things I do not understand._

_I believe darkness sleeps in every heart, no matter how pure. Given the chance, the smallest drop can spread and swallow the heart. I have witnessed it many times._

_Darkness..._

_Darkness of the Heart..._

_How is it born? How does it come to affect us so? _

_As ruler of this world, I must find the answers._

_I must find them before the world is lost to those taken by the darkness._

_**~Ansem the Wise**_

* * *

* * *

* * *

_I think, personally, that this would go better if I could think of it, in my mind whilst writing, as not the game. Take the preconceived notions of that the game made and make them different and better...hmmm...I dunno...just my thoughts..._

_Anyways, in other news, I'm playing Final Fantasy VII for the first time(yes, no joke. First time.) and it's already become my second favorite game behind Kingdom Hearts II.(It's already made me cry.) If you have never played FFVII, I cannot recommend it highly enough._

_Right now, I'm at the beginning of the third disc. Very close to beating the game._

_Until Next Time in this Whale of a Tale!_

_~Mars_

_("Leopard 's Head" changed to "Tiger's Head" for the Cave of Wonders)_


	13. In the Belly of the Whale

_Kingdom Hearts is not, and probably never will be, mine. But if it was...oh if it was..._

* * *

_**Chapter XIII: In The Belly of a Whale  
**__~Only a friend can betray a friend. A stranger has nothing to gain.~  
__And only a friend comes close enough to ever cause so much pain.  
__~"Why?" by Michael Card_

The Gummi Ship plowed steadily through space; swirling nebulae of purple and blue sliding by the cockpit windshield. Inside, Donald was dozing in his Captain's Chair,(as he liked to call it) whilst Sora reclined on a small wall couch watching space fly by and thinking. Goofy, like Donald, slept on the left chair.

Suddenly, the ship shook and began to list to the left, knocking Sora out of his day-dreaming and onto the cold, metal floor. Donald jerked away and grabbed at the controls, searching space outside for their attacker.

"What was that?" he yelled, jerking the ship around to get a better view.

Sora jumped to his feet and strapped himself into his chair. "I dunno, but it felt like it hit us."

A monstrous blue whale, at least hundreds of times the size of the Gummi Ship, suddenly sailed from above them and, after sailing quite a distance, began to lazily turn toward them.

"Gawrsh! It's a whale!" Goofy stated the obvious as Sora and Donald said nothing. A whale in space? As odd as everything they had found before...this had to be on the stranger side of odd.

At the mention of 'whale', Jiminy peeked from Sora's pocket and took a good look at the beast.

"Bless my soul! It must be Monstro!" he gasped.

"Who's Monstro?" Sora asked, watching the whale anxiously.

Jiminy spoke quickly before jumping back into Sora's pocket."Legend has it, he was a monster created by a group of mad scientists and, when more pressing matters appeared, they released it into space to be rid of it. This isn't going to end well."

Donald pushed the joystick of the Ship as fast as it would go, "Let's just get outta here!"

Alas, by this time, the whale had circled around and was coming straight toward them, mouth agape.

"Too late!" Sora yelled and braced himself before the Ship was completely eclipsed by the Whale's mouth.

* * *

Riku looked out of one of the portholes of Captain Hook's cabin. He had seen the giant whale swallow his ex-friend's Ship. How unlucky for him, the oh great Keyblade Master.

A scowl crossed Riku's face and he turned to one of the Pirate Heartless in the area, one of the remnants of Hook's original human crew; before he allowed for them all to be turned into Heartless.

"Get me your Captain. I want to take a small detour."

The dark creature stared uncomprehendingly at him for a few moments before disappearing into darkness.

Riku grunted and looked back out the circular window.

* * *

_8 Years Before..._

_Six-year old Sora hurriedly led seven-year old Riku to the base of the giant tree in the middle of their little Island. It was odd, considering Sora was leading Riku somewhere, and not vice-versa as it normally was._

"_It's true! I saw it with my own eyes!" Sora pulled Riku anxiously._

_Riku rolled his eyes and let his friend drag him along, "You sure you didn't just hear it this time?"_

"_There's a huge monster in there, I'm tellin' you!" _

"_All right, suppose there really is a monster," Riku shook his hand to bring feeling back into it as Sora released him at the entrance to a small cave. "Think we can beat it by ourselves, Sora?_

_Sora looked back from peering intensely inside, "No problem! C'mon, Riku, let's do it!" _

_Suddenly a whisper of sound came from the cave. A steady call of what was obviously a monster._

"_Can you hear it growling?" Sora shifted from one foot to the other._

_Riku was surprised that Sora had actually been right, "Shhh...quiet. We've gotta be careful."_

_They slowly crept down into the cave, which turned out to actually be a tunnel leading deeper into either the large Tree, or the Island itself. Riku was unsure._

_Inside, they found themselves in nothing but a cave. Rocks and boulders dotted the small area. Above them, roots grew over a hole in no particular pattern, blocking the sunlight snd creating intricate patterns on the floor. The wind blew through the roots, causing the 'monster' to roar again._

_Riku let out a breath, "See that? I told ya. It was just the wind making that noise."_

"_Aw man! I wish it was a monster!" Sora scuffed his foot before something caught his eye, "Hold on, what's that over there?"_

_The two friend's eyes fell upon a large brown door on the far wall. Riku ran over and tried pushing it._

"_It won't open. Is it a broken door?"_

"_Geez..." Sora sighed, "It's that really all that's in here?"_

_Riku shrugged, "What do you expect in a boring place like this? But don't worry, when we grow up, we'll get off this Island!" Riku looked up at the tangled skylight, "We'll—we'll go on REAL adventures, and not this kid stuff!"_

_Sora nodded emphatically with Riku's plan. "Sure! But isn't there anything fun we can do now? Hey! What if we go see that girl we saved!" _

_Riku nodded and they both walked from the cave. As they left, Riku wondered to himself why Sora talked about that girl all the time. Suddenly, Riku felt something cold touch him from behind and he looked back to see a golden Keyhole sitting in the middle of the oaken door._

_His eyes widened and he quickly caught back up to Sora, who hadn't noticed his friend lagging behind._

* * *

Sora slowly blinked his eyes open, feeling something rough and squishy beneath him. His mind attempted to pull together the pieces of what had happened. The Gummi...the Whale...being swallowed...

Sora bolted up, only to hit his head into something hard. He fell back to the moist ground. When his eyes finally adjusted to being conscious, he found himself looking up at the broken glass of the Gummi's windshield. More than half of it was missing, laying in jagged pieces around him. Inside, a white emergency light glowed, lighting up the darkness around him. Upon standing up, Sora surveyed the area: Next to him were lying Donald and Goofy, and farther around him were piles of drift wood and assorted other junk, hapharzardly lying in a few feet of water. The squishy floor beneath him was a pink color and seemed to have small, rough bumps on it.

That's when he noticed the smell. The horrid, revolting, vomit-inducing smell. Sora gagged into his hand and swallowed over the stench.

"Donald, Goofy wake up!" he shook his friends.

"What's...what's the big idea?" Donald grumbled, not fully awake. Goofy rolled over and asked for five more minutes. Five more minutes not to be, because a large chest suddenly fell to the ground with a resounding crash, causing Goofy to jump to his feet and knock his head on the Gummi Ship himself. Now that Sora noticed it, the ship was leaning on it's side, upside-down.

He looked over at the Chest and saw it already opened, lock broken. Inside was a single yellowed page showing a forest scene; quite similar to the one they found in the Cave of Wonders. Sora figured that it was one of Merlin's pages and stashed it in his pocket.

Donald finished waking up. "Where are we?" he asking, looking around slowly.

Goofy blinked a few times. "I think that big 'ole Whale Monstro just swallowed us. That is, if I can still remember right."

Sora looked to one end of the area and, sure enough, saw what looked to be two rows of white teeth. The Whale had swallowed them and they were in it's mouth. Disgusting. And that explained the smell.

Sora, nose upturned with this new knowledge, looked up at one of the larger piles of junk, the one the chest had fell from, and yelled,"Is there anyone up there?"

A little wooden head craned over the edge far above; a wooden head with a blue wooden hat and black wooden hair.

"Hey guys! It's me!" Pinocchio grinned and waved.

"Oh..." Donald sighed and wobbled to his feet. "It's just Pinocchio." he jumped in surprise."Pinocchio?"

Sora was surprised as well, but was distracted by a wiggling in his pocket. He looked down and saw Jiminy poke his head out. "Pinocchio?"

The puppet boy disappeared from view and soon reappeared, walking across a few wooden platforms in the water that led towards more fleshy ground on the other side of the mouth. He balanced a large box as he walked. On the other side sat an Interspace Vessel, looking very much like a wrecked ship. One that looked suspiciously like Cid's. Beside it, a little further out, was an actual beached, wooden ship. It sat in great disrepair, but a few small lanterns glowed from it's deck into the darkness.

"C'mon!" Jiminy said in his small voice. "Let's go after him! Quickly now!"

Donald grabbed Goofy and dragged the half-awake dog, now nursing a bump on his head, along with him through the murky waters. Or, rather, saliva. Sora tried to think about it as just water with little success.

They soon pulled themselves up onto the rough edge of the ship. Pinocchio stood on the deck, looking up at an older man who had white hair and a bushy white mustache. A pair of glasses sat on the bridge of his round nose. His grey-blue eyes twinkled down at Pinnochio as the young puppet-boy showed off an odd assortment of tools and supplies that he had carried across with him.

"What have you got there, Pinocchio?" the man asked.

"With this stuff," Pinocchio held up the box for closer inspection, "We can get out a here, Father! We can use it to fix that ship I brought!"

Father? So this man was...what was his name...Geppetto? Pinocchio's father? Sora still had no idea how this obviously human man was supposed to be the father of an obviously wooden, albeit living, puppet. For what felt like the millionth time in his adventure, Sora shrugged and shook his head. It was a crazy universe he lived in, one that he hadn't even known existed before a week and half ago, and some things he just had to accept. Who knew what else was out there? Sora looked back at Pinocchio and Geppetto, who had yet to notice their visitors.

"By jove you're right!" Geppetto adjusted his spectacles and tugged at his brown, leather workman's vest. "I'll get to work on it right awa-" his eyes caught sight of Sora, who waved awkwardly. Donald finally pulled Goofy, still drifting out from sleep, onto the deck.

"Oh my! Who do we have here?" Geppetto walked over to the trio and studied them through his glasses, "Did the whale swallow all of you too? My goodness!"

"Yeah...looks like it." Sora rubbed the back of his neck. "My name is Sora, this is Donald and Goofy."

Geppetto smiled kindly at Sora's two companions. "My name is Geppetto, and this is-"

"We've already met Pinnochio." Donald shook Goofy, who had been, strangely enough, nodding off again.

"But, uh...it's, uh...good to meetcha, Geppetto!" Goofy snapped back to attention.

Geppetto looked surprised that they already knew Pinocchio. "You mean you met him outside the whale? Well, I'll be! I hope he was a good boy in my absence!" Sora's eyes shifted to Donald, smiling awkwardly. Donald half-shrugged.

"Heh. He, uh, sure was..."

Geppetto smiled."Well, I'm glad! You see, as precious as he is to me, back at home, Pinocchio always got into trouble. In fact, that's one of the reasons we're here..."

* * *

Pinocchio looked around the Whale's mouth, searching for something, anything, that could alleviate his boredom. His Father was going on and on about where they had come from and how he had ended up in the Whale. Admittedly, Pinocchio was surprised to have seen Jiminy and those people with him here in Monstro too, but the puppet-boy never stayed surprised for long.

Wasn't there _anything _to do in this whale?

It was then that Pinocchio noticed the light from the lanterns did not extend throughout the whole of the Whale's mouth. The glow tapered to a halt a few yards off the ship. Right at the border between light and darkness he thought he saw some jean-clad legs, but they quickly disappeared further back into the Whale; down toward it's throat.

He decided that even if it was nothing, he would follow it. Anything was better than just standing here, bored out of his mind.

* * *

"...and so that's how I ended up here. I've been here for quite awhile. Pinocchio arrived here by luck just the other day in this ship here." Geppetto gestured toward the Interspace Ship that showed obvious signs of attempted fixing. "But is was damaged when Pinocchio was swallowed, and even if it wasn't, Monstro would still have to open it's mouth before we could leave."

Sora nodded and nudged Goofy awake, who had finally fallen asleep during Geppetto's story. Donald was sitting on the edge of the ship, tapping his foot impatiently.

Geppetto turned to Pinocchio. "We've all had quite a journey. Right, Pinocchio?" it was then that he noticed Pinocchio was no longer around. "Pinocchio? Pinocchio? Where are you?"

Sora looked around quickly, checking for any trace of the puppet-boy. There was none. Geppetto started searching frantically around the ship: under the small bed, through the chest in the corner, and through the few drawers on board. "Where could he have run off too?" he moaned and sat on the bed.

Suddenly, the sound of rattling came from deeper within Monstro. A few footsteps and just the hint of a voice in the distance. Geppetto jumped to his feet and began to climb down the ship. "I bet he ran off deeper into the Whale to explore! I've got to go find my son!"

Sora ran over and grabbed the man by his shoulders. "Wait! Me, Donald and Goofy'll go. You stay here and work on fixing those ships."

Geppetto looked at Sora for a few moments before running one hand through his hair. "Please, promise me you'll find my son!" Sora nodded and Geppetto sighed, "Okay. I'll stay here and work on the ships. Yours is only slightly damaged, the cockpit windshield can be fixed easily enough...I'll just need to retrieve the..." Geppetto's words drifted off into unintelligible murmurs as he picked up the box Pinocchio had shown him earlier and began to wander toward the ships.

Sora motioned for Donald and Goofy to follow him. Goofy grabbed one of the lanterns and came down first. With the lantern's light, they saw that there was a gaping hole at the end of the mouth, leading deeper into the Whale's body. As nauseating as that sounded, Sora knew what they had to do. As they approached the circular hole, they found that they had no need for the lantern. Somehow, the Whale's dark pink innards were luminous and gave off their own, albeit small, light.

At the end of what Sora could only describe as a passage, because he had no clue what else one would call it, he saw Pinocchio standing at a corner. Sora called to him.

"What are you doing, Pinocchio? Come on, let's go back. Your father's working on the ships!"

"You know, Geppetto's awful worried about yah!" Goofy added.

Sora nodded. "This is no time for games! We need to find a way out of Monstro!" And find Riku and Kairi, Sora added to himself. Who knew where they were. He found it slightly odd that the Pinocchio hadn't replied yet. The puppet just stood there, lifeless, like a, well, puppet.

"But Sora," someone stepped out from around the corner and leaned lazily against the wall, "I thought you liked games? Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?"

Speak of the devil. It was Riku.

"Riku?" Sora glanced over at Donald and Goofy to see if they were seeing what he was. They were. "Wh—What are you doing here?"

Riku shrugged and studied something he found quite interesting on the wall. "Just playing with Pinocchio."

"You know what I mean!" Sora shook his head, "What about Kairi? Did you find her?"

Riku shrugged again and gave a little half-smile, "Maybe...catch us and maybe I'll tell you what I know."

"What! C'mon!" Sora couldn't believe what he was hearing. Riku wanted to play games now? What was he thinking?

Riku turned and grabbed Pinocchio around the waist, hoisting him up in the air, before disappearing around the corner and down the hall.

Sora looked quickly at Donald and Goofy. Donald's face all but screamed, "He's _your _friend! What does he think he's doing!"

Sora quickly ran off after Riku, his two friends in tow.

What _did_ Riku think he was doing?

* * *

Riku slowed down after turning the seventh corner and jumping two gaps. The lifeless Puppet in his arms hung limply. Who knew that one could knock a puppet out? Riku felt the slightest twinge of hurt that Sora had skipped any preamble in seeing him, jumping straight to Kairi. But that's the way it always was, ever since she arrived on the Islands seven years ago. He had to admit, he saw it coming. There was no doubt that Maleficent had been right, Sora had moved on from him. He had new friends, new adventures, a new life. Riku studied the puppet in his arms, still having no idea who it was. He had simply lured it to him; curious as to how a puppet could somehow be alive. Perhaps it had a heart? Riku wondered if this strange, living puppet could be a bonus to following Sora into these God-forsaken Whale innards that stunk like hell.

Suddenly, the room's temperature dropped. Riku sensed her presence. Maleficent had decided to visit. And now, of all times. He turned and found the Witch standing regally beside the opening he had just came through. She frowned.

"Why do you still care about that boy? He has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and his new companions, after all."

"I don't care about him." Riku said testily. "I was just messing with him a little."

Maleficent's thin eyebrows rose a few millimeters. "Oh really? Of course you were." her small, black pupils stared into Riku. "Beware the darkness in your heart...the Heartless are not timid creatures."

Riku snorted, "Mind your own business!"

Maleficent made no motion to move. She stood staring a Riku a few moments longer before disappearing into darkness.

Riku looked back at the puppet. He should keep moving.

* * *

After a good while of chasing Riku, our heroes found themselves in a dead-end room. Odd purple growths seemed to pulsate on the walls. Every now and then, the room would shudder, as if the Whale knew what was inside it and was trying to be rid of it.

In the middle of the room stood Riku, back turned to the entrance; Pinocchio hanging loosely in his right hand.

"Riku! What's the matter with you? What are you thinking?" Sora ran forward closer to his friend, "Don't you realize what you're doing?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Sora." Riku spoke without looking back. "You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade of yours these days." he turned his head slightly, just enough to stare at Sora out of the edge of his turquoise eyes. "Do you even want to save Kairi?"

This accusation hit Sora like a freight train. He took a step back and blinked in shock.

Donald ran in front of the jarred Sora and brandished his wand. "Of course he does!"

Riku looked about to respond, but one of the purple growths detached itself and flopped to the ground. It sat on a round, purple body. This body had on it what looked like a face on it's torso. A long row of purple offshoots stood in for teeth, mashing themselves together in intimidation. A light purple, onion looking head sat atop the body with glowing yellow eyes. A black heart symbol, criss-crossed in red, declared that this was a Heartless. Two flailing blue arms shot off from directly below the head and slammed into Riku, throwing him back toward Sora. He lost his grip on Pinocchio leaving the puppet to crash into the wall and crumple to the floor in a heap. The Heartless parasite roared and it's arms grew longer, heading for the group of travelers. Riku pulled himself to his feet and stood up next to Sora.

"You up for this?" Riku asked.

Sora studied Riku for a moment before nodding slowly and calling the Keyblade to his hands. "No problem, let's do it!"

Riku grunted and pulled out a sword that Sora had not noticed before. It was long, and was shaped like a red demon's wing. It's hilt had a single sapphire in it. Sora noted this quickly before diving out of the way of an oncoming tentacle-arm, now noticing that these arms had snapping pincers at the end, surrounded by spikes at their base. Riku had jumped high to dodge and came back down hard on the tentacle with his sword. The parasite Heartless screeched and whipped the cut appendage up at Riku, who landed and slid under it.

Donald fired off a fire spell at the Parasite's head, which it took with rumble.

Sora was slapped back by the tentacle that had been following him. The pincer came toward him, ready to take a pound of flesh, but Goofy's shield, expertly thrown, knocked the claw aside. Sora jumped to his feet and called upon the upgraded fire spell Genie had shown him: Fira.

Below the Heartless' body, an eruption of fire grew, engulfing the torso in flames. The parasite roared again and Monstro's body shook. After the fire died down, the Parasite still stood, but looked quite burned.

If anything, it became angrier.

It's tentacles lashed about without direction, smashing every person in sight. Riku finally made a running jump and blasted another fire spell in the monster's face, sending it tumbling back. After one final roar, the Heartless fell through the fleshy floor. Riku scooped up Pinocchio, took one look at Sora, and jumped down after the monster.

Sora took a few breaths and, after making sure Donald and Goofy were okay and ready to come with him, followed Riku down the hole.

After falling a few feet, the ground tipped slightly in a different direction and Sora felt himself fall onto something wooden and hard. He stood up. They were back on Geppetto's ship. No Heartless in sight. Riku, on the other hand stood on a fleshy outcropping above them, still holding Pinocchio. Geppetto was standing on the bow of the ship, pleading with Riku.

"Please!" he begged, "Give me back my son!"

"Sorry, old man. I have some unfinished business with this puppet." Riku shrugged, "I hadn't originally planned on it, but you do what you can, right?"

"He's no puppet! He's my little boy!" Geppetto corrected sadly.

Riku scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Riiiiight. Though, I will give you that he's unusual. Not many puppet have hearts. I think he might be able to help someone who's lost theirs."

Something about the way Riku said 'someone' made Sora think it as someone he knew. Could it be-

"Wait!" he spoke worriedly, "Are you...are you talking about Kairi? She's lost her heart! Is she okay?"

Riku glared at Sora defensively, "What do you care about her? _I'm _the one who found her! Not you!"

"So it is her?" Sora's eyes widened, "C'mon Riku! Please! What happened?"

"It doesn't matter to you." Riku said, "For now, all that I need is this puppet."

"Let him go, Riku!" Sora said threateningly.

"Don't you see?" Riku screamed. "This puppet could help me fix Kairi! Don't you at least want that, Sora? Or are you _that _self-absorbed?"

Sora didn't know what to say. It wasn't often that Riku yelled. Why didn't he just let Riku take Pinocchio if it stood a chance of helping Kairi? Pinocchio wasn't _his_ problem. Kairi was. Yes Geppetto would be sad, and probably angry too, but what did that matter? Geppetto was just someone he had met not a few hours ago! Kairi had been one of his best friend for seven years! Geppetto could just make another puppet, couldn't he? He really should just let Riku take the-

No...no, he couldn't.

Pinocchio, as odd as it may have seemed, was Geppetto's son. He couldn't just let Riku, who had obviously gone crazy, take a man's son. Even if it was for Kairi. She wouldn't want Riku to do this.

Sora diverted his gaze to the wooden deck, biting back a simmering guilt, and slowly raised the Desert Key to point at Riku.

"W-W-What?" Riku stuttered in disbelief, Pinocchio falling from his open grasp. "You'd—you'd rather fight me? Over...over a puppet that had no heart? Does he mean more to you that Kairi!"

Sora spoke quietly without looking up. "Heart or not heart...at least he still has a conscience."

At the mention of conscience, Sora vaguely noted Jiminy jumping out of his pocket and up to the slumped Pinocchio.

"You...you might not hear it. But right now it's loud and clear." Sora finally raised his gaze to meet Riku's, "And it's telling me you're on the wrong side, Riku!"

Riku's jaw worked up and down for a few moments. "And...and I thought you couldn't be possibly more selfish that you already were. Well...you leave-"

Riku's reply was interrupted by the shuddering of the whale and the sound of gushing liquid from the it's throat. All heads turned to see what was coming. From the hole into the throat, green acid started to pour out, bringing with it a putrid smell. Sora could only guess that it was stomach acid. Even more disgusting that before. The acid filled the whale's mouth where the saliva used to pool, slowly starting to eat away at the small wooden islands in the massive mouth. Sora could only guess it was doing the same to the beached ship beneath them as well. The two ships, their Gummi and the one Pinocchio had come in, seemed to stay unharmed, apparently impervious to damage from stomach acid.

What Sora noticed next was something most unwelcome.

Two long, blue tentacles swung from the opening and pulled themselves up the fleshy wall using a ring of spikes. Soon enough, the Parasite Heartless came into full view, hooking itself along Monstro's mouth like a rock climber.

Sora looked over at Riku to see if he was going to fight again, but he gone. Pinocchio still lay in heap, though, and Geppetto was attempting to reach him.

Sora took a ready stance as the Parasite reached the wooden ship and detached itself from the ceiling, landing with a hard crack. Wood splintered, but didn't break. Sora noted that it's whole body was charred, gray all over. It's torso-mouth chomped angrily, a few of it's spike-teeth missing.

It's two tentacles started to come down toward Sora, Donald and Goofy. Quickly, Sora clenched his eyes closed, braced for impact, and thought back to one of the spells that Genie had shown him: Reflect.

Just as the arms were about to hit their mark, a half-sphere, yellow honeycombed shield was thrown up around Sora and friends. Sora blinked open his eyes to find the monster hammering away at the shield, which seemed to be holding up fairly well. He sighed. This monster had survived direct hits by fire. What was it's weakness? Sora looked at the monster through the yellow patterns, it's torso-mouth swinging open and then crashing closed again. That's when he got an idea. Which was a good thing, because, at that moment, the Reflect shield began to spiderweb. Small cracks began to criss-cross their way around the half-sphere. Sora took the Desert Key and brought it behind him, prepared for when the Heartless breached the shield.

Just then, the Reflect spell cracked into little yellow glass fragments and dissipated. Sora cranked the Desert Key back even more, noticing Donald firing off a Blizzard spell.

Finally, Sora threw the Keyblade forward and it spun in a circle until it finally implanted itself inside the torso-mouth. The Parasite Heartless froze and shook a little before tipping off the edge of the ship and falling into the stomach acid with a roar. The Keyblade reappeared in Sora's hand. The Heartless was slowly eaten away in the acid until a small, dark heart floated into the air above and disappeared, leaving nothing behind.

Sora peeked over the edge to be sure the Parasite was gone and, convinced that it was, leaned back and sighed. Now, if only he knew where Riku-

Without warning, Montro shook again. The fleshy walls of the mouth quivered and a huge tongue began to rise from beneath the acid/saliva mix and wooden debris. The ship below Sora shook and, combined with the acid, started to break apart. Apparently Monstro had grown tired of all the goings-on in his body and was prepared to expel his guests. Sora saw that Pinocchio and Geppetto had already gotten into Cid's now-fixed ship. Through the windshield, Geppetto motioned that they should get into the Gummi which was now sitting nearby, fixed as well. The Whale continued to convulse and spasm. Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly jumped across the debris and reached the ship, getting inside just as Monstro took one more violent jerk and spewed everything out of his mouth; wood, ships and all.

* * *

Riku stood in Captain Hook's cabin, staring intently at Kairi's comatose body in front of him. Even though he was sure it wouldn't work, he had tried multiple times to wake the girl up. Nothing had happened. She had stayed completely limp, utterly devoid of any signs of life. Riku leaned back in the chair he was sitting in and stared at the ceiling. He thought back to Monstro. He had left through a Portal of Darkness just as the Parasite arrived for the second time. He wasn't worried about Sora, he was sure his ex-friend could hold his own against the Heartless. Until, of course, he fought Riku himself. Then he would meet his match and Riku would defeat him. Perhaps take the Keyblade for his own.

He wondered why he had fought alongside Sora against the Parasite the first time. He could only guess that it was the nostalgia of fighting beside Sora again. They always either fought each other on the Islands, yes, and occasionally they would fight other of their Island friends, but quite often they would go one adventures on their own. Wooden swords in hand, they would defeat dragons and wizards and evil Dark Lords, like in the story books. Never suspecting that such things actually existed. Riku supposed he fought alongside Sora because it reminded him of old times. A wry smile crossed his face when he realized that "old times" were only a week and half ago. How time flies.

Riku felt the room become cold. Just like in Monstro. She was back, most likely standing right behind him. He spoke without looking back.

"So Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?"

"Precisely."

"And her heart was...?"

"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt."

Riku stared at Kairi for a few moments. "Tell me...what can I do?"

"There are Seven Maidens of the purest heart." he could just sense Maleficent smiling darkly, "We call them Princesses of Heart."

So that was why she had him take Jasmine.

Maleficent continued, "Gather them together, and a door will open to the Heart of All Worlds. Kingdom Hearts. Within lies untold wisdom. There.." Riku felt her bony hand on his shoulder. He made no motion to shrug it off. "There you will surely find a way to recover the poor girl's heart. Now. I will grant you a marvelous gift: The power to control the Heartless."

Riku didn't start or look at Maleficent as he sensed a powerful energy enter his body. He looked down and saw a green light coming off of him like fire. It didn't burn, but it left it's charred marks nonetheless. Not on his body, but on his heart.

Presently, and without speaking again, he felt Maleficent leave. He sat and watched Kairi's body.

"Soon, Kairi, soon."

* * *

_Well, as I brainstorm out more and more ideas for Kingdom Hearts: Mourning's End, the more and more I come to realize that story will be, what I hope to be, my Masterpiece. I can promise you, dear readers, this: It will be epic. It will rock. Or I will die trying to make it that way._

_*chuckles*  
Well, I know it may sound odd(and slightly arrogant) to be saying this as early as it is,(having barely gotten through a single part of the Kingdom Hearts Epic) but...Mourning's End...will prove to be one of the best things I've ever come up with in my whole life, in any field.  
I wish I could write it now. But I must put all my writerly power(read: Zero) toward this current project!_

_Thank you, my friends, for reading this story. I deeply appreciate it. Remember, I will be forever in your debt if you can critique my story. Give me pointers, please, if you have any at all to give!_

_Right now, also, I'm going through the first nine or so chapters and touching them up. They will be updated the moment I finish each one. They definitely could use a bit of cleaning.  
As of now, Chapter 1 has been touched up and Chapter 2 will be up before I post the next world. Also, in case you noticed, I will be prefacing every chapter with a quote from now on. As I touch up previous chapters, they receive quotes as well.  
~Mars_


	14. A Red Tide

_Kingdom Hearts is not mine, nor is anything related to it._

* * *

_**Chapter XIV: A Red Tide  
**__~Up where they walk, up where they run,~  
__Up where they stay all day in the sun!  
__Wandering free. Wish I could be.  
__Part of that world.  
__~Part of Your World from the Little Mermaid._

Sora shifted back into his chair in the cockpit. The Gummi Ship was speeding through space again, and this time with no interruptions. Donald was leaning over the controls of the ship, while Goofy napped on the wall couch. Jiminy was back in one of the bedrooms. Since he stayed on the ship for most of the missions planetside, they always made a point to tell the cricket all about what had happened when they returned; so that he could write it properly into his journal.

As Sora watched space move past, he wondered if Geppetto and Pinocchio were okay. After Monstro had sneezed them out, Sora's group hadn't been able to find the old man and his son. There had been nothing on the sensors and nothing in sight. They had no choice but to move on toward the next world.

Which, Sora now noticed, was coming up fast.

This new world seemed to be completely covered in water. The only spot not covered was a small spit of land no bigger than Morningheath had been back on Destiny Islands. Sora bit his lip and kept a straight face at the remembrance of his old home, and his usage of "had been". He needed to find Kairi and save the worlds. Riku...he still had no idea about what Riku was doing, but the older boy had made it abundantly clear that he didn't need Sora's help.

Sora could still barely believe that he had been enlisted to stop the Heartless from destroying other worlds. Why him? Surely there were better choices for the Keyblade to make. And, speaking of the Keyblade, why hadn't the it come sooner? Why couldn't he have used it to save Destiny Islands?

Sora called the sword into vision and studied it. He turned it over in his hands and ran his fingers along the blade. It was still bright gold and wickedly hooked from the Keychain in Agrabah. He wondered briefly if he would find anymore Keychains in his travels.

"We're coming up on the next world." Donald said without looking up from the control panel.

"Gawrsh, good thing there's that little bit of land! That's a lot of water!" Goofy chuckled, coming out of his nap.

"We're going into the water, Goofy." Donald said, conjuring up his wand.

Sora sat up in his seat, "What? In the water? Why can't we just land on the, uh, land?"

Donald looked up and sighed with impatience, "This is Atlantica. It's special. And with a little bit of my magic, you'll see. Now shut up and let me concentrate!"

Sora opened his mouth to voice another objection, but, before he could speak, the teleporter had activated and they were headed to the ocean.

* * *

The first thing Sora felt was water. Lots of it. Water in every direction. He quickly clamped his mouth shut, not daring to open his eyes. He knew this had been a bad idea. He started to propel himself upwards and hopefully to the surface. It was then that he noticed that he couldn't feel his legs anymore, instead, he seemed to feel only one muscle where his legs were supposed to be.

Slowly, he peeked one eye open and stared down. Thankfully, the water was clear and bright, lit by a shining sun, and he could see quite far in all directions. As he looked down as his lower body, his mouth dropped in shock as he saw that his legs had become one, long, dark blue fin. He no longer wore a shirt and all that was left on him was his silver crown pendant, floating around his neck. He barely noticed that his mouth was open and he was not drowning. It appeared as though he could breath the water here, at least in his current form.

Sora soon caught sight of Goofy, who no longer looked like a dog, but was rather a huge sea turtle with a yellow shell, shield was no where to be seen. Donald floated into Sora's field of vision looking like a small octopus, but still retaining his two white arms and head.

"Uhh...Donald..." Sora wriggled around, trying to learn the ropes of swimming with a fin, "What happened?"

"I used my magic to change us into sea creatures so we can fit into this world."

"So...I'm a mermaid?"

Donald was silent for a moment. "Technically, it's a merman."

Sora looked over at Goofy who was lazily floating, oblivious to the world around him.

"And...do you know exactly how to swim like this?"

Another silence. "Not really."

"So why didn't we land on that little island?"

Donald shrugged and used his tentacles to propel himself away from Sora, leaving the boy to take look around the area they had arrived in.

Walls of blue stone rose up all around them, creating natural barriers that gave way to long trenches. The underwater world was splendidly lighted, with no darkened spots in view, except for the occasional overhang covered in shadow underneath. A school of yellow and red fish swam by and disappeared through multi-colored coral. It was a serene scene, beautiful in it's calmness.

"Come on, Sebastian!" called a sudden female voice.

Sora glanced down the trench in the direction the voice had come from and caught sight of a young mermaid coming towards them. She stopped short when she saw Sora, Donald and Goofy, but eventually smiled and swam closer.

"Ariel! Wait!" a deeply Jamaican voice yelled from behind Ariel. "Don't leave me behind!"

The mermaid herself had long, thick red hair and bright, clear blue eyes. She had a light green fin and wore nothing but two purple shells covering her chest. Sora blushed and looked away.

"Why, hello there!" the girl called. Sora gave a little wave while still looking down and away, where Goofy was continuing to float carelessly.

"Uh, I, uh, hi.." Sora replied.

"Ariel!" Sora saw a small red hermit crab, owner of the Jamaican accent, swim into view. "What would your father do if he knew you were talkin' to strange fish?"

"Oh, calm down, Sebastian!" the girl replied, "Daddy will be fine. Besides, they don't look like one of them. Right Flounder?" The girl addressed a yellow puffer fish with blue stripes.

"I don't know..." it replied quietly. "There's something weird about them."

"Excuse my friends, my name is Ariel." the mermaid greeted.

"Uhhh...my name is Sora. That's Donald." Sora pointed to his friend who was now glaring angrily at the hermit crab. It must've bumped into him or something. "And that's Goofy." Sora pointed to the reclining sea turtle.

There was no reply for a moment and, when Sora peeked back at Ariel, he found he up close to her face, peering at him oddly.

"Are you afraid of me?"

"I, uh, of course I'm not!" Sora swallowed and laughed nervously. "We're just...we're not used to these waters yet. We come from sorta far away.."

Ariel smiled and swam up above him. "Well then! Welcome to King Triton's territory! This is Sebastian and that's Flounder!" she gestured at the hermit crab and the puffer fish, respectively. "I love meeting new people! You can come with us! We'll take you to see daddy-" Ariel was cut off when a small group of Heartless appeared. She gasped and swam away from the sudden intruders. Sora called the Keyblade to his hands.

These new Heartless were small and resembled the jellyfish that Sora used to catch back on the Islands with Riku and Kairi. They were sea green and transparent in color, with the black heart, criss-crossed in red, over their bulbous heads. The first one came at Sora with it's tentacles stretched out.

Sora brought the Desert Key up for a practiced slash, but he hadn't counted on the water slowing the Keyblade. The Heartless stingers reached him and sent jolts of electricity through his body. He spasmed in pain. Ariel screamed. Donald propelled himself up close to the Heartless and placed his wand right against it, calling out "Fire!" and the leaving Heartless to be hit head on withburning magic. It vanished into black, inky darkness. Goofy pulled his head and fins into his shell and spun quickly into the other Heartless, taking the remaining down.

Sora floated there, gasping and clutching his gut.

"Gawrsh, Sora, are you okay?" Goofy asked, swimming close.

"Yeah..." he wheezed. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"The Heartless may be headed for da palace!" Sabastian said anxiously. "We have to get back dere!"

Ariel nodded worriedly.

"We'll come with you." Sora announced.

* * *

After a ways of swimming, with Sora perfecting his movements unnoticed, the small group of six reached a large, open area fenced in by tall, coral pillars. The pillars came to a stop at the far end of the area, ending with a towering arch that stood guard to a large castle, which reflected the wavering sunlight in gold. Rock and shell formations dotted the area, and a small road ran through the middle. On all sides, mermaids and mermen swam about, occasionally talking with each other. Sora noticed that there were many more mermaids than mermen.

"Refugees from da outer kingdom." Sebastian answered the unspoken question. "Da Heartless have forced dem to gadder' here."

Sora nodded as they swam their way past the merfolk, a few of whom looked suspiciously at the new arrivals. Sora chuckled nervously and swam faster. These people were obviously on edge from the Heartless attacks. He wondered how much they knew about the beings of darkness. Then again, he wondered, how much did _he _know? They were creatures born of darkness who stole people's hearts and were trying to eat away the Grand Hearts of worlds. He also knew there were different species of Heartless, some who looked like soldiers, others who looked like simple shadows, and many more. The weaker Heartless were also normally led by a stronger Heartless. He knew they could kill. He knew they could hurt. He knew they could destroy worlds.

And he knew he couldn't let them do that.

Presently, Ariel led the group into the shimmering palace and even further into a circular room with a large, blue coral throne growing up majestically from the floor. On it sat a well built merman with a chiseled body and dark blue fin. He had a long, white beard, connected to a white mustache that hung down on both sides of his mouth. He wore a golden crown atop his white head, and held an imposing, golden trident in his right hand.

"Hello Daddy!" Ariel greeted her father, the King of Atlantica.

"Oh, Ariel," the King groaned, causing Ariel to flinch. "When will you listen? It's dangerous outside the palace!" The King's eyes shifted to Sora and his friends, narrowing. "Strange creatures lurk outside..."

Sebastian cleared his throat. "Behold! You swim before da ruler of da Seas: His Majesty, King Triton!"

Triton didn't seem to notice Sebastian's introduction, continuing to stare down Sora, Donald and Goofy. "...and who are they?"

Ariel smiled and swam behind Sora, pushing him forward towards her father. "They helped us fight off the Heartless!"

Triton still glowered. "Hm. They don't look familiar..."

Sora swallowed. "We're, ah, from an ocean very far away."

Goofy glided through Triton's field of vision carelessly. "Yup! We came to find the Keyhole-"

Triton's eyes widened. "The what?"

"What's that?" Ariel asked in innocent curiosity.

"Well," Goofy chuckled. "It's a-"

"There's no such thing! Certainly not here!" Triton interrupted with a yell.

"But—But Daddy..." Ariel looked sadly at her father, wanting to hear more.

"Ariel! Not another word." the King warned sternly. "You are not to leave the Palace again, is that clear?"

Ariel shook her head angrily and quickly swam from the room. Sora, not wanting to be left alone

with the ruler without his daughter, turned hastily and followed, Donald and Goofy in tow.

* * *

King Triton continued to watch the boy and his friends suspiciously, until they were completely out of sight. He should have ordered those three newcomers away from his daughter. Better yet, he should have had them locked away himself. They were trouble.

But Ariel...oh, dear, dear, Ariel. The King turned to the only being left in the room: his loyal attache, Sebastian.

"Perhaps I'm being too strict..." Triton rubbed his forehead. "I'm just concerned for her safety..."

Triton knew he had felt that way since his wife's death, but he needn't voice that to anyone, not even Sebastian.

"Of course, your Majesty! Very true!" Sebastian replied. "But I must admit, now I'm quite curious about dis Keyhole..."

Triton reached one of his great hands out and plucked Sebastian up, bringing him close to his face. "That need not concern you, Sebastian." he released the hermit crab. "Have you anything to report?"

Sebastian swallowed and nodded. "Just as you suspected, your Majesty! Da Heartless seem to be coming from Ursula's grotto.

"I knew it!" Triton smashed his fist down on the side of his throne. "That Sea Witch is up to now good again. I see that exile from the Palace has taught her nothing. I should have had her executed!"

"Yes, she poses serious danger!"

A small fire kindled in Triton's eyes. "And I told you to keep Ariel away from such danger, did I not?"

"Your Majesty, please, I, uh..." Sebastian stumbled over his words.

"Sebastian, send a legion of my finest soldiers to Ursula's Grotto. She must be stopped! Then I want you to keep my daughter out of harm's way!" Triton ordered.

Sebastian nodded mutely and quickly left the King alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ariel had brought her new friends to see her Grotto. Goofy had expressed concern that Ariel's private cave was outside the Palace, but the girl hadn't seemed to care.

Her grotto was a round cave that gradually became smaller the higher it went, eventually leading to a foot-long hole at it's peak. Rough-hewn shelves circled the room completely. A new shelf continued every few feet up to the apex of the cave. The shelves themselves held all manner of odd knickknacks and assorted items that Sora could only guess came from the humans that lived above the water's surface.

"Look at all these wonderful things Flounder and I have collected!" Ariel held up a small glass case containing a set of silverware. "It's all from the outside world! Someday, I'm gonna see what's out there!"

Sora smiled as he watched the mermaid. It wasn't too long ago that he, Riku and Kairi had felt the same. They had wanted to explore. To see the sights no one else had. To discover. Or, at least he and Riku had. Or maybe it had just been Riku, and he had followed. Kairi had always been happy with the Islands, even though she should've had the most motivation to want to see other worlds. He had always been happy with the Islands, but Riku had infected him with the glory of other worlds. Not that he had minded all that much. It was exciting. It was an adventure.

Now, looking back, Sora thought that he would've preferred staying on the Islands over all that had happened in the last week and a half. To have the Islands back, to have Riku and Kairi and his mother back. To relax on the beach and hear the waves slowly drift in and out, in and out.

Ariel sighed. "I must sound crazy..."

"No you don't." Sora encouraged. "I kinda used to feel the same way."

Ariel cocked her head. "Used to?"

"I mean...still do."

Ariel nodded and smiled. "Hey! Why don't we try looking for that Keyhole you were talking about?"

Sora gulped. He didn't want to bring King Triton's anger down on him anymore than he already had. "But...your father said-"

"Oh, he treats me like a little girl!" Ariel said angrily. "He probably just said that to keep me inside the Palace! He never wants me to do anything exciting." She sighed. "He just...he just doesn't understand..."she brightened up. "But I've got an idea about the Keyhole!"

Ariel swam over to a large crate that sat along the far wall. She shoved it aside, revealing a small, trident shaped indentation in the wall.

"I've asked Daddy before about what this means, but he'd never tell me!" She turned to Sora. "What if it has something to do with your Keyhole!"

Donald raised a finger, about to say something,(most likely about the small jump in logic that Ariel had made)but the young mermaid spoke first.

"If we go up the northern trench, there's a sunken ship from the Surface-World. I've never really explored it before." Ariel smashed a fist into her palm. "Maybe we'll find something there to do with the Keyhole!"

Before anyone had the chance to say anything else, Ariel swam from the room, expecting everyone to follow. Sora looked at Donald and shrugged, swimming after her. Donald grabbed Goofy, who had fallen asleep while drifting, and dragged him along after Sora.

* * *

What no one had noticed was that three different beings had watched the conversation. One, a small, red hermit crab on assignment from his King. The other two, a pair of electric eels with one glowing yellow eye each.

* * *

Ursula slid away from her cauldron, having seen enough of Triton's precious daughter's spiel. Her poopsies, Flotsam and Jetsam, had done a fine job in spying on the girl, as they always had. They were beautiful creatures.

One of her many tentacles reached out and grabbed a tube of lipstick, she applied it while watching herself in the mirror.

"Those impudent fools will never find the Keyhole. But the girl..." Ursula smacked her lips. "Dear, dear Ariel could prove useful. And I've got the Heartless on my side..." she laughed and glided over to the entrance of her main abode, deep within a great coral growth. The only way to enter was through the skeletal mouth and throat of a long-dead, underwater behemoth.

A long tunnel led through the bony structure from the mouth. All along the ground of the tunnel sat small growths of gray beings. They each wavered back and forth slowly with the tide, groaning to themselves with their little faces.

They had used to be merman and mermaids who had made deals with the Sea Witch, back when she lived in the Palace. Few came to her after her...removal...but it was always a wonderful occasion when the rarity did occur. The poor souls had not been able to hold up their end of the deals and she had been forced to...discipline them. They were her own little friends, once people, now growths. No better, in fact, then they had been as merpeople. Growths, all of them. Horrible little growths that latched onto their fellows and selfishly sapped everything for themselves.

She had simply weeded the terrible fools from the...less terrible fools. But still fools nonetheless, all of them. The biggest being Triton. He had failed to see all the good she was bringing him. She only was doing what was best. That was, after all, what she lived for.

Ursula's little prisoners moaned in horror at her presence as she smiled over her precious garden.

"Triton, my old friend, your day is coming."

* * *

The sunken ship was a large wreck, looking years old. It sat at the bottom of a round canyon, titled to the left, with pieces of the bow and a few lifeboats scattered about it. As the foursome swam closer, they found that the deck was almost nonexistent, consisting of mostly holes.

"Gawrsh, how long has this ship been here?" Goofy asked.

"For as long as I can remember." Ariel answered as she swam down into the deeper part of the ship.

As they reached the cargo hold below, it became clear that this ship had not been made for long travel. Most of the ship was holding crates and boxes, with only a few bunks for the crew. At the far end of the hold, a rotted door hung off it's hinges, leading into what was probably the Captain's Cabin. Upon entering, Sora saw a desk, that appeared to be nailed to the floor, sitting in the middle of the room, in front of the far wall's massive window. A few chairs lay toppled over on the leaning side of the ship. A golden plaque on the wall read 'Captain Eric the First'.

"Doesn't look like there's anything else here..." Sora shrugged, still wondering what had convinced Ariel that there was something at this wreck. He turned and swam to explore more of the ship, Donald and Goofy following.

Ariel had a feeling about this room. Whatever a "captain" was, he seemed like a very important person. She swam slowly over to the only standing object in the room, the desk, and peered behind it. Her eyes fell on something white and she screamed.

Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly returned to the Captain's quarters, weapons ready, only to find what Ariel was staring at: A white skeleton, wearing scraps of blue cloth and clutching a medium-sized chest in it's white hands. Goofy poked it.

"Looks pretty dead..." he announced.

Donald slapped his forehead. "Thanks, Goofy, we would've never guessed."

"I wonder how he died..." Sora asked no-one in particular.

Ariel, apparently over her scare, tugged the chest from the skeleton's bony fingers. "Probably was trying to get away with this. I wonder what's in it..." she tried to pull it open, but the lock held fast.

"Sora! You could use the Keyblade-" Goofy pointed to the sword in Sora's hand. Donald slapped his head again.

"She really needed to know about the Keyblade..." he grumbled.

"Know what?" Ariel asked. "What can your sword do?"

"Yeah," Sora asked. "What can it-" it was then that he realized what Goofy had somehow realized. If the Keyblade could lock worlds, surely it _un_lock a little chest.

"So what can it do?" Ariel repeated.

"Well, uh, this...I guess..." Sora pointed the Desert Key towards the lock and a small beam of light emerged from the Key's tip. It shot into the lock and released a small click. The chest popped open, water greedily filling the previously air-filled space.

Ariel's eyes widened. "What kind of sword is that?"

"Eheh," Sora rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't really know..."

Ariel shrugged and looked into the chest. In it was a single, blue crystal, three-pronged tip of a trident. Sora was reminded of King Triton's mighty weapon. He briefly wondered if these things had any connection. Ariel reached in and grabbed the crystal trident, studying it intently.

"You know, it seems like you should know what the Keyblade is by now, Sora." Donald shrugged. "It seems irresponsible for you to have it if you don't even know what it can do..."

"Hey! You don't know either!" Sora waved the sword around in annoyance.

"It's not _my _sword!" Donald replied.

"You know..." Ariel finally interrupted, everyone turning to look at her. "This crystal trident reminds me of the-"

Just then, the wrecked ship shook and the glass windows ahead of them exploded. Crashing through the debris came a gigantic shark with small, yellow eyes. Sora brought the Keyblade up into a defensive position and everyone swam back toward the door. The shark snapped it's jaws hungrily at them and began to push itself through the rotted wood that was holding it back.

"Let's get outta here!" Goofy yelled, quickly propelling himself from the room. Ariel and Donald followed, with Sora coming last, watching the shark struggle it's way through the windowed wall.

When they reached outside the ship, they could no longer hear the shark. It seemed to have ceased it's attempts at entering the sunken vessel.

"If it's no longer trying to get in..." Ariel began.

"...then it's out here." Sora finished, looking up just in time to be pushed aside as the shark moved past, beelining toward Ariel. She began to swim away quickly, but the shark's powerful fins pushed it to speeds that no merperson could approach. Ariel was alone in her escape and defense. Sora's head was still spinning from being knocked aside, Donald's magic could do no good underwater unless it was Cure or he was closer, and Goofy wasn't fast enough to reach the shark.

Suddenly, a blast of golden light hit the shark from the side and sent it tumbling through the water, blood flowing from the huge gash in it's side, coloring the water red. Another blast hit it near it's eyes, causing it to tumble with finality into the far wall of the canyon and float limp in the water. Sora saw Ariel's eyes widen as she turned to look at where the golden blasts had come from. Sora turned and saw King Triton floating at the lip of the canyon, holding a glowing trident.

"Ariel!" he roared, voice booming. "You've disobeyed me again! I told you not to leave the Palace-" he stopped short, while sizing up the situation, when he noticed the crystal trident clutched in Ariel's hand. His eyes narrowed. Triton swiftly swam over to his daughter and pulled the small item from her hand.

"Daddy—Daddy no!" Ariel cried as Triton crushed the trident tip in his large fist, anger-filled eyes never leaving his daughter's face.

"I..I...how could you?" Ariel burst into tears and rapidly swam away and out of sight.

"Ariel!" Sora called out after her.

For a moment, Triton stared off into the space his daughter had previously occupied. His eyes had softened slightly, but quickly returned to their previous fiery quality when he turned to Sora and friends.

"Young man, you're _not _from another ocean! You're from another world, aren't you?" Triton accused.

Sora said nothing in shock. He guessed Donald and Goofy were feeling the same on either side of him. How had Triton figured it out? Were they _that _obvious? Or was it something more? Could Triton know something he didn't?

Triton scoffed."You must be a Keybearer."

"How...how did you know?" Sora asked, still surprised.

"You may fool Ariel, but you can't fool me." Triton shook his head. "You don't know your dorsal fin from your tail."

Sora groaned. Turns out they _were_ just that obvious.

Triton pointed his Golden Trident at Sora threateningly. "As the Keybearer, you must already know that one must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds!"

Sora nodded his head emphatically. "Of course I know that! But we're trying to save the-"

"You have violated this principle!" Triton interrupted, turning from the group. "The Keybearers...they shatter peace and bring ruin." he finished bitterly.

"Aw," Goofy swam in front of his friend. "Sora's not like that-"

"I thank you for saving my daughter," Triton interrupted again. "But there is no room in my ocean for you or your Key!" as the Sea King passed over the edge of the canyon, he called out one final warning. "It would be better for you to leave sooner, rather than later. The Shark's blood will undoubtedly draw more of it's cursed kind."

The three friends were silent for a moment. Sora stared down the the golden Keyblade in his hands. He wondered if it was his destiny. Would he end up doing that? Would he end up bringing ruin and destruction to the Worlds?

Donald and Goofy looked sadly at their friend.

He couldn't. He wouldn't. Couldn't and wouldn't.

Could he?

* * *

Ariel lay dejectedly across the rock in the middle of her grotto, crying into her arm. Why did her father have to be so insensitive? Why didn't he ever seem to care about what _she _wanted to do? Why couldn't he just...why couldn't he just let her live her own life?

"My, my, the poor child suffers such deep sorrow..." a gurgling voice suddenly spoke. Ariel's head shot up. Two dark blue eels with one unblinking yellow eye each were staring at her from across the rock.

"What a pity" one of them said to the other. "If only there were something we could do..."

"Well, maybe _she _could be of some help." the other one said thoughtfully.

"Yes, maybe she can be of some help," the second one turned and spoke to Ariel, "to _you._"

"Who're," Ariel sniffed. "Who're you talking about?"

The first eel smiled. "Oh, she would surely help you. She'd make all your dreams come true."

"Ursula can help." The second eel smiled in tandem and both of them twisted into swirling dance, disappearing into an inky cloud that had appeared. When the cloud vanished, in it's place a large, pale purple half-woman, half-octopus wafted down to the sea floor. She had white, thick hair that billowed upward at all odd angles above her head. Black tentacles snaked out from her torso like a pack of vipers. She wore bright red lipstick and eyeshadow around huge, white eyes.

"You called, my dear?" Ursula held out her arms, as if for a hug from a pestering aunt.

"You're...you're Ursula." Ariel declared more than asked. This woman's name had been forbidden at the Palace, and she had only heard it spoken once when she was much younger. Ariel wondered briefly why her father had outlawed the usage of the simple name of what appeared to be a helpful woman. Daddy was stupid anyway, he wouldn't understand what she really wanted and why she wanted it.

"I was...I was just wondering if you could-"

Ursula chuckled. "It's all right, deary, helping others is what I _live _for!" she put a pointed fingernail to her chin in thought. "Let me guess, you wish to see other worlds. That shouldn't be too hard. After all," Ursula's eyes glinted. "Your new friends came from another world."

"W-what?" Ariel's eyes widened in shock.

"But they had special help-" Ursula sighed in sympathy. "That mysterious Key."

Ariel sighed. Just when she thought she could get her wish, she found that it would take Sora's special sword.

Ursula, seeing her disappointment, shrugged. "Now, now, cheer up, sweetie! You have something special too."

"Huh?" Ariel asked.

Ursula slid across the ground to her, intending to whisper into the young mermaid's ear.

"Now just listen carefully..."

* * *

"I think the Keyhole they seek is somewhere in the Palace." Ursula whispered to Ariel from the a shadowed overhang outside the Palace."Now, if you can take me there without your daddy knowing..." Ursula licked her lips. "I can help you get to these other worlds you long for."

Ariel nodded eagerly and led Ursula around outside the palace and inside a back way. They were coming up behind the Throne Room when they heard Triton speaking with a guard.

"-and don't let that spiky-haired boy and his crazy friends near my daughter or this palace!"

"Daddy, I just saw them. They were trying to get into the palace! I came here right away." Ariel said as she swam up from the shadows behind her father's throne. The guard nodded and swam off quickly, calling out for more of his soldiers.

Triton looked warmly at his daughter. "Ariel! So this is where you were hiding!" he placed a large hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad that you see what a danger that boy can be!" Suddenly, his face took on an solemn look. Ariel watched him, fidgeting uncomfortably. "I do think that I might..." Triton swallowed. "That I might...er, owe you-"

"How touching, Triton, you do have a heart." Ursula's black tentacles wrapped around the trident and ripped it from the King's grasp.

"Ursula!" Triton roared. "How did you get into the palace? Ariel! Stay back!" Triton reached out a hand protectively. "This woman is mad!"

"Triton, you old fool!" Ursula chuckled and pointed the trident at Triton, her voice dropping dangerously low. "She let me in."

Triton had little time to even look at his daughter in shock as the a gold beam from the trident hit Triton dead-on and threw him viciously into his coral throne, toppling it to the ground.

Ursula lifted the trident high in victory. "The Trident is mine at last!" Ursula smiled and nodded at Ariel. "And I couldn't have done it without your help, my dear."

But Ariel wasn't listening, she was desperately digging through the coral rubble, attempting to remove her wounded father. "Ursula! No! I didn't..." her throat caught. "I didn't..."

"What? You didn't want this?" Ursula chuckled as her two eels appeared from an inky cloud. "But aren't you tired of following your dear daddy's orders?"

Ariel didn't say anything. She quickly returned to digging her father out.

"Oh, oh yes! We had a deal, didn't we?" Ursula smiled. "Time for a little journey—to the dark world of the Heartless!"

"We cannot find the Keyhole." one of the eels spoke.

"The Keyhole is not here." the second one said.

"What?" Ursula sneered and turned just in time to see the Keyblade Master enter with his two compatriots.

* * *

When Sora entered the Throne Room, having dodged a few guards and wanting to plead his case once more to King Triton, he found himself looking upon a worrying scene. He first saw Ariel frantically digging rubble out from what appeared to be King's throne, albeit collapsed. King Triton himself was nowhere to be seen, and floating in the middle of the room, holding the trident, was a large, half-octopus woman, who was now pointing the trident at Ariel. Two dark green eels floated beside the strange being.

Sora knew immediately that this octopus-thing must be some sort of enemy. It wouldn't have the Trident and be pointing it at Ariel otherwise. He nodded at Donald and they both called forth their weapons and pointed them towards the octopus woman. Goofy readied himself to use his shell as a weapon, since his shield had been lost in transit to Atlantica.

"Hey you!" Sora said threateningly.

"Well, well, well! We have company!" the black octopus cackled at some unheard joke, waving the Trident in a circle above her. "I'm afraid you're a little late, handsome."

On the ground beneath the octopus, a black puddle appeared and from it grew a rock cauldron. A red mist swirled within it and every few moments an overflow of the mist would float off of it.

"I am Ursula! Ruler of the Seas!" the Sea Witch screamed as she flung her hands about her, manipulating the contents of the cauldron. Sora began to swim towards her but was pulled back by something slimy wrapped around his leg. He looked down to see one of the eels encircling him. As he swung the Keyblade at it to knock it off, he saw Goofy swim past him towards Ursula. The dog-creature threw himself in a spin and moved towards Ursula head on, only to be noticed out of the corner of the Witches' eye and assailed by a blast of red energy from the cauldron. Goofy's hardened shell crashed into one of the stone pillars, sending a crack racing up it's middle. The pillar snapped and collapsed toward Ursula, only to be blasted to smithereens by the Trident.

By this time, Sora had succeeded in knocking the eel off his leg and was again moving towards Ursula. As he moved, he noted quickly that Donald was currently fighting off the second eel.

Sora brought the Keyblade down hard on the back of the Sea Witch, creating a long gash down her back that started to leak black liquid. Ursula screamed in what sounded like horror, as compared to pain, and lashed out at Sora with one of her tentacles, easily clamping his arms tightly against his body. With that control, Ursula slammed Sora up against a large pillar and brought the trident up to just touching his throat. Sora wriggled to escape her grasp, or at least get in a position to use the Keyblade.

"Maleficent always spoke wonders of you, my little dear. She claims you are the only one who could stop her. Or at least...your little sword could." At this, Ursula's tentacles brushed up against the Keyblade. "But now, I'm afraid I must sacrifice your pretty face for the sake of mine." Ursula shrugged and sighed resignedly. "What a poor, unfortunate soul."

* * *

Ariel was still hastily moving rubble from around her father's throne, near-oblivious to the battle going on around her. She had already uncovered a bruised left hand and chest, and was now uncovering Triton's face. As she lifted the last few rocks, throwing them carelessly to the side, Ariel wondered why she had wanted what she had wanted. Was she really willing to sacrifice her father's life for the sake of otherworldly travel? She had found, in the moment of Ursula's attack with the stolen Trident, the moment in which her father barely had time to glance her way, in that hundredth of a second, Ariel had glimpsed the betrayal mixed with shock on her father's face.

That glimpse had cut like a dagger into her heart. In that moment, she realized her father had a reason for all the things he did. All the restrictions, all the reprimands, all the anger was all for her safety. She had realized that her daddy had wanted nothing more than to keep his daughter safe.

"The Trident..." a rough, choking voice mumbled. "We...must get it back..."

Ariel found herself looking at the battered face of her father, but he wasn't looking back at her. He was looking beyond her to the battle going on in the Throne Room.

"Daddy..." Ariel spoke with a trembling voice, cupping Triton's rough face with a small hand."Daddy, you're hurt..."

Triton didn't respond as Ariel watched her father swallow once and muster all the strength he could to yell one more line.

"Keyblade Master...Ursula's cauldron...is the source of her power!"

* * *

Sora felt the tentacles around him tighten as the trident pressed against his neck began to glow. He heard King Triton's words about Ursula's cauldron and knew that he had to get to it. If only he could move the Desert Key to get a good swing at the witch in front of him. Ursula cackled.

"Sweety, I almost forgot, there's a rule I like to run my business by." Ursula pulled the Trident away from his throat and drew it down towards his chest. "It goes like this: An eye for an eye." As soon as the words left Ursula's lips, she quickly slashed the Trident down Sora's chest, opening a gash from the top of his sternum to the bottom of his ribs. Sora screamed in pain as blood leaked forth from the cut.

"There, that wasn't so heard, my little dear! Now our business is even." Ursula brought the trident back up to his throat. "You can die without a debt. Lucky boy."

Through the pain in his chest, Sora remembered something. His magic. With a shuddering breath, Sora twisted the Keyblade into such a position that it just brushed Ursula's torso. Ursula peeked down to see what had touched her, only to hear Sora yell out one word.

"Blizzara!"

Ursula screamed as a sharply pointed icicle formed at the edge of the Keyblade and plunged itself deep into her body. The Sea Witches' tentacles unraveled themselves from around Sora as she writhed in pain. Sora gasped and sunk close to the ground, trying to catch his breath. He slowly began to swim toward Ursula's cauldron, each flap of his fin causing pain to radiate from his chest. He realized he couldn't go on with that, so Sora took a small breath and called out another spell.

"Cure!"

Green light covered his body as the open wound on his chest sealed itself into a scar. Sora breathed easily for a moment, just before his head started to spin from mental exhaustion. He caught sight of Donald, who yelled his name, still fighting Ursula's two eels. Sora tumbled softly to the ground beside Ursula's cauldron, finding himself staring up at a rather angry Witch. The icicle she had been impaled with had melted away in the warm waters of Atlantica and now a gaping wound, oozing the same black liquid Ursula's back had, made itself painfully clear.

"So you're not just a pretty face..." Ursula snarled, moving her way slowly towards him. Sora thought that her tentacles were now throwing themselves around independent of the Witch.

"I guess I am." Sora mumbled, mind clearing slightly. He turned the Keyblade upward towards the cauldron and called out one, final spell.

"Fira!"

At that call, pillars of fire erupted from the cauldron and the whole container began to quake. Ursula's eyes widened in surprise as the cauldron's mists exploded in a blast of white light. Sora heard one last shriek of anger before the light faded out, leaving a destroyed cauldron and calm waters behind.

As Sora's vision began to black out, he noticed three things, in this order:

Ursula and her two eels were gone.

Donald was swimming speedily towards him while Goofy rose from the rubble of the pillar he had been thrown into, shaking his head tiredly.

And finally, The Trident was sinking down to a landing beside Ariel and the King.

Sora was able to take a few more blinks before his vision completely darkened.

* * *

Sora awoke to the sound of Donald's nasally voice.

"There's a good reason you're not supposed to use that much magic so close together, idiot!"

Sora smiled weakly at his friend floating over him, with Goofy beside, and shrugged. He saw that he was still in Triton's Throne Room and that the King's guards had finally arrived. The small battalion had finished digging the King out and had returned the Trident to him. At the moment, Sebastian(who had just returned from an errand for the King) seemed to be attempting to convince Triton to go to a doctor. Triton himself was having none of this, being hastily bandaged up was apparently well enough for him.

"You can take me to all the doctors you want, Sebastian, as soon as I clear up some issues with my daughter!" Sora watched as Triton turned to Ariel, who was floating beside him, looking at the ground in shame. "Ariel..."

"Daddy...daddy, I'm sorry...I, I...just..."

Triton coughed and placed his hand on her head. "No, it's my...it's my fault." he snorted at his admittance. "You followed Ursula because...because I wouldn't let you follow your heart." Triton looked over at Sora, who was now up and swimming towards the pair. "When you found the crystal, I lost my temper and destroyed it."

"Oh yeah!" Goofy spoke up, floating beside Sora. "Why didja do that?"

Triton glared slightly at Goofy for interrupting him. "Because that crystal has the power to reveal the Keyhole, and the Keyhole is very dangerous." Triton sighed. "I had to keep it away from all of you. But now...now I see that you need to save the world, young man." Triton glanced at Sora. "And such old principles need to sometimes be put aside in favor of the greater good."

"Thank you, King Triton." Sora smiled slightly.

"But how are we supposed to get to the Keyhole now?" Donald asked. "If the crystal was the only way, there's no way Sora can seal it now."

Triton smiled through a bruise on his cheek. "My trident can reveal the Keyhole. Here." he handed the trident to Sora. "Take it, and seal the Keyhole. You've earned my trust."

"But where is the Keyhole?" Ariel asked.

Triton turned to leave with Sebastian. "You out of anyone should know. It's in your grotto."

"Really? Let's go then, Sora!" With that, Ariel turned excitedly and headed off to her grotto, Donald and Goofy following. As Sora started to swim away, Triton stopped him with a call.

"Young Keybearer, I do have one final thing for you. A trifle of thanks for your assistance in all these matters."

As Triton moved past Sora, he gripped his hand around the trident and Sora felt a power surge through him like lightning. He could only guess it was his Thunder spell becoming more powerful.

Triton nodded at him once, formally, and left the Throne Room.

* * *

After catching up to his friends outside the palace, Sora turned to Ariel.

"So what exactly happened back there?" he asked.

"Well..." Ariel took a deep breath. "I betrayed daddy because Ursula promised to take me to other worlds...it sounds silly now but I..." she bit her lip. "I was just so mad at him! I just wanted to know more about other worlds and he would never let me. I felt like I had nowhere else to turn." Ariel looked away sadly.

"So you let Ursula into the palace? So it's _your_ fault we had to-" Donald began, but Goofy quickly knocked him out of the way, interrupting his friend's angry rant.

"Aw, it's alright, Ariel!" He grinned. "Your father seems to be okay!"

"He might be...but I'm sure I've hurt him on the inside..." Ariel sighed. "I just wish I could take it back...I'm sorry, Sora. Donald. Goofy. I didn't mean to cause so much trouble..."

Sora grinned. "It's okay, Ariel! We're all fine now!"

"I know, but...I still feel bad." Ariel paused. "Sora, do you think you could tell me about what your world is like?"

Sora's eyes widened in surprise at Ariel's question. She knew that they didn't come from Atlantica? Had Triton told her?

"Same as here." Donald replied. "Since we live in an ocean far away-"

Ariel smiled. "Please, Sora, I know your sword helps you travel through worlds." for this, no one had any reply. "I...since I can't go to other worlds, I would really just like to hear about another world. Please, Sora?"

Sora paused, What harm could it do to tell her about the Islands?

"They were beautiful. I remember that the sun would-"

"They 'were'? You 'remember'? What do you mean?" Ariel interrupted.

Sora grimaced. "My home...was taken by the Heartless. It was...destroyed."

Ariel's hand covered her mouth in shock. "Sora! I'm—I'm sorry! You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to!"

Sora shrugged tiredly. "No. It's okay. I'd like to talk about it."

"Uhhhh, come to think of it, Sora, you've never really told me and Donald 'bout your home! We'd sure love to hear about it!" Goofy chuckled. "Isn't that right, Donald."

Donald shrugged. "This oughta be good."

"So." Sora started. "My home was a group of Islands called Destiny Islands. It was wonderful. The water was always warm and bright blue. The weather was almost always sunny and warm. We rarely had storms and we got most of our water from the dew which was collected by the town and used with cleaned ocean water. The main Island was named 'Morningheath'" Sora smiled happily, basking in the memories of home. "That's where I lived. Off the coast was a smaller Island that me and all my friends would play on. Especially me 'n Kairi and Riku..." Sora trailed off. "Me and Kairi and Riku...they were my best friends. Riku was always like an older brother. Teasing, protective and the leader. Me and Riku would duel with our little wooden swords all the time." Sora noticed that Ariel and Goofy were listening entranced, while Donald swam to the side, pretending not to be interested. Sora chuckled. "I've still got bruises from the last time we fought."

"And what about Kairi?" Ariel asked, completely enthralled with Sora's tale of another world.

"Kairi..." Sora blushed slightly. "Kairi...came to Islands during a meteor shower. Me and Riku found her out in the ocean and rescued her. Ever since then, she's always been with me and Riku. She's smart and knows just how to handle the two of us boys, even when we do some crazy stuff. She was always there to push us on when we weren't doing our best. She's really kind and-"

Donald laughed out loud. "I think Sora's got a crush on someone!"

"Do not!" Sora quickly replied. "But Riku sure would always tease me about that..."

After a few more minutes of swimming and talking about Destiny Islands and Disney Castle, they reached Ariel's grotto.

"So, uh, what do we do with the Trident?" Sora asked.

"Let me see it," Ariel said and took it from Sora. She held it up in front of her head, before the trident-shaped indentation. Immediately, the imprint glowed and a thin sheet of gold covered it, shooting out a trident shaped projection. In the middle of the projection sat the deep blackness of a Keyhole. Sora took out the Keyblade and sealed it quickly, just as he had all the others, and leaving the trident projection to disappear into a flock of bubbles.

"That was amazing..." Ariel marveled. Sora nodded and was about to reply when something just below him caught his attention. It was a chest with an glass top. Inside sat two pages: One with lots of writing, the other with a forest scene and writing beneath it. Sora gasped.

Another page of Ansem's Report and Merlin's book!

"Hey, Ariel, do you think we could take that chest with us?" Sora asked, pointing to the item in question. "It could really help us in our journey."

Ariel thought for a moment then nodded. "Go ahead! It's the least I can do!"

Sora thanked her and, after the three said their goodbyes, headed back to the Gummi Ship; leaving Ariel alone with the Trident and her treasures from the above world.

* * *

Back on the Gummi Ship, Sora placed the chest down on the table in the Kitchen and shook the water from his spiky hair. He had stumbled around the ship at first, nearly dropping the chest on Donald, when the mage had changed them back into their original forms. Eventually, Sora had gotten used to walking on two legs and couldn't say he missed being a merman.

"Donald, I have a question." Sora asked as he walked to the bathroom to grab a towel. He noticed Goofy leaving to start the ship up and head on to the next world.

"What is it, Sora?" Donald replied.

"Well, we went thought a lot of trouble trying to make it seem like we weren't from another world. I'd just like to know why we have to do that?"

Donald didn't reply immediately. When Sora returned with a towel covering his spikes, Donald was seated at the table, looking at the newly-acquired chest thoughfully.

"You know, Sora, I don't really know. It was just always the unwritten rule: Don't interfere in others worlds business."

"But what if you need to? To help people? Like what we're doing."

"Maybe..." Donald said softly(for once). "Maybe that rule isn't as necessary as I first thought..."

"I think you're right." Sora nodded. "I don't think it-" he was interrupted by the heavy sound of Donald hand crashing down on the table.

"How _dare _they make me follow a rule that wasn't all that important to begin with! BAH!"

Sora snorted and went back to painstakingly drying his spikes of hair.

* * *

_**The Report of Ansem: Studies into the Heart.**_

_**Part Three.**_

_The shadows that crawl beneath the castle... Are they the people who lost their hearts, or incarnations of darkness? Or something entirely beyond my imagination? _

_All my knowledge has provided no answer. One thing I am sure of is that they are entirely devoid of emotion. Perhaps further study will unlock the mysteries of the heart. _

_Fortunately, there is no shortage of test samples. They are multiplying underground even as I write this report. They still need a name. Those who lack hearts... I will call them the Heartless._

_**~Ansem.**_

* * *

_First off, my deepest DEEPEST apologies for being sooo late with this chapter. I really need to write more. *slaps self* _

_You'll notice that I left off the Giant Ursula boss battle. Honestly, that's because I didn't think it would be a good idea to have two giant battles. (Eg: The one in KH2) Plus, I think it ended nicely right where it did._

_Finally, I've fixed up through Chapter 4, and they just might warrant a re-read. Chapters 5 and 6 will be updated before Chapter 15 is released, and 7, 8 and 9 will be up before Chapter 17.  
After that, it's smooth, FREAKING AWESOME, sailing until the end of Kingdom Hearts I._

_~Mars_

_PS. Has anyone else seen that "Spider or a Squirrel? MOST AMERICANS GET THIS WRONG!" banner ad? Isn't it annoying?  
Gah. It's so photoshopped. Geeze.  
Sorry, I needed to say it.  
Also, what's with the "most AMERICANS get this wrong!" Is it just because the ad is focused on the US? Or do most Europeans get it right? How about Kazakhstanians? Do they get it right all the time?  
Heh, sorry for a long Author's Note. Have great day._


	15. Where Halloween Never Ends

_OH MY GOODNESS, this took my awhile. Sorry guys. It's been, what, five months? Six months since I posted a new chapter?  
__My bad. I've been doing a lot of other stuff, in addition to rewriting chapters 1-9. That is done now and we are about to enter the climatic part of the game.  
__This is gonna be so cool!_

_-Ahem-  
__Kingdom Hearts sits on a certain pedestal of awesomeness for me.  
__The creation, or ownership, of anything on said pedestals could not possibly have anything to do with me, and so, among many other things, I don't own Kingdom Hearts._

* * *

_**Chapter XV: Where Halloween Never Ends  
**__There are no elements so diverse that they cannot be joined in the heart of a man.  
__~Jean Giraudoux._

Barret Wallace quickly ducked behind one of the mock barricades he and Dyne had set up in the last few minutes, smiling as he watched a few paintballs fly over his head. He spiritedly pushed himself up and shot off a few rounds in the direction the others were coming from. The teenager and his best friend had been put on the run, separated from their group, by the enemy team. They were now deep in the woods at the height of the storm. And, damn, Barret thought, what a storm it was. Probably the worst he ever remembered. The sky was black and seemed to twist in on itself. Dark rain fell pelting to the ground while the occasional thunder clapped and lightning lit up the darkness.

Barret didn't mind though. He loved a good game of paintball, and the rain only made it that much more fun.

"Dyne! Hey, dude, where are you?" he whispered through the rain, not wanting to bring attention to his position. If there was one bad thing about this rain, it was that one guy could not see his best friend right in front of him.

Dyne tapped him on the shoulder. "Behind you man, we gotta keep moving. Scarlet and her guys are getting closer."

"Aw, not yet Dyne. Justa few more shots now..." Barret grinned wide and fired a few more colored balls in the direction he figured their enemy was coming from.

Dyne crouched low and ran. "Let's go!"

Barret nodded and followed, running low and hard. He hadn't gotten hit yet, and he planned to make today a perfect game. Imagine that. A perfect game, in this rain. Now that'd be pretty awesome---

Barret's thoughts were interrupted by running head first into something in front if him. Probably a tree. The young man shook his head to clear it and looked up. It was difficult to see, what with the rain coming down as it was, but Barret soon realized that what he had run into was no tree.

It was a man in a brown, shapeless coat, large hood enshrouding his face.

"I've come to see the door to this world." the man spoke in a deep voice.

"What? Who the hell are you?" Barret asked, pushing himself to his elbows.

"This world does not have long. Twilight is soon to arrive, followed by night."

Barret jumped to his feet and grabbed the hooded man by the cloak. "What are you talking about?"

The man made no move to resist, indeed he made no other sound. Barret was about to rip the man's hood off when he felt the ground disappear beneath him. Releasing his grip from the man in surprise, Barret felt his body fall through straight down. He briefly wondered what the hell was going on before his thoughts were completely taken up with his current predicament of an endless fall.

And as Barret Wallace fell into the darkness below him, he looked up to see what he had fallen through.

It was difficult to see at first, but even the darkness outside wasn't as dark as the sheer ink he had fallen into, allowing a slight shape to be made out in the endless black above him:

The shape of a keyhole.

* * *

"This sure is a spooky place!" Goofy shuddered. "I'll bet the people here are scary-lookin' too!"

And Sora had to agree.

The world they had arrived in, hauntingly named Halloween Town, was a dark world, blanketed in night, and lit only by a large, pale moon hanging in the cloudy sky. Dead trees, bearing no leaves, stood jagged around the group, creating a short path into a town, just visible above the treeline.

"Don't worry, Goofy, we're scary too now." Donald said proudly, examining his new look.

Sora definitely approved of the changes, in fact, he thought they were the absolute best thing ever. Especially his.

Man, did he ever love his new outfit!

Upon entering this world, just as in Atlantica, the three companions appearances had changed. Goofy had changed into somewhat of a Frankenstein outfit, wearing ragged, torn clothes with a single metal screw sticking out of the top of his head. Donald had become very mummy-like, completely wrapped in old bandages.

But Sora...Sora had become a vampire, and he was tickled to death by the fact. His normal, colorful clothing had become a black and white jacket over a completely black jumpsuit/dress shirt mix. Two short, black bat wings had sprouted from his back and two of his teeth had grown very much longer, now resembling twin fangs. A red pumpkin mask hung slightly over his right eye, obscuring his vision slightly. Not that Sora really minded, since it probably looked totally awesome.

"You guys have no idea how cool I feel right now!" Sora said excitedly, quickly marching ahead, only to be interrupted by a blindingly bright explosion. As soon as it came, silent but stunning, it left.

Above them, a star shined and went out completely, disappearing from view.

"What...what just happened, guys?" Sora asked.

Donald and Goofy looked sadly at each other. Goofy spoke up. "The Heartless took another world, Sora."

Sora's face fell at the reminder of the darkness looming over the galaxy. "Is...that what happened to the Islands?"

Again, Donald and Goofy traded looks of sadness, now mixed with sympathy. "Yeah...it is..." Donald put a hand on Sora's arm. "The Heartless are getting stronger with every world they take."

"Yup, remember what Leon said?" Goofy asked, reminding them all of Sora's quest to seal the Keyholes of the worlds so that they couldn't be taken by the darkness.

Sora nodded and moved ahead. "Well, let's find the Keyhole here."

"We should start with the town." Donald suggested. All agreed, they moved forward into the darkened hamlet.

Upon entering through a spiked and rusted gate, Sora caught his first glimpse of the town: A large, open plaza-like area, with a fountain of green goo centering it, surrounded by houses all built at odd and seemingly impossible angles. One was high on stilts, whilst another was in the shape of a giant pumpkin, and still another seemed close to collapsing, incredibly tall and thin. Most of the town seemed to be built on higher levels, almost as if on a wall that went all the way around the perimeter.

But the number one thing that Sora noticed was the guillotine beside the slime fountain, and a band of Heartless, in the form of ghosts, surrounding it. Pale, gray bodies with clawed hands and yellow eyes floated listlessly around the square.

"Heartless!" Donald warned, already calling his wand to his hand. Sora and Goofy followed suit with Keyblade and shield, prepared for an attack.

An attack that never came.

"Gawrsh, why aren't they attacking us?" Goofy asked.

Sora looked confused. "That's weird. They're just sitting there."

Donald walked up and tapped one of the Heartless on the head with his wand. No response. It simply bobbed in the air and resumed it's floating.

Goofy spoke thoughtfully."D'ya think they could be sick, Donald?"

"Can Heartless even get sick?" For reasons unknown to Sora, Donald and Goofy looked to him for an answer.

Sora shrugged. "How should I know?"

Suddenly, a voice rang out over the common. "And now, allow me to introduce the Master of Terror! The King of Nightmares! Jack Skellington!"

Looking across the area, Sora saw a small man, with a triangular head, sporting a suit and an astonishingly tall top hat, point toward the fountain. The Heartless, having formed into two rows, pulled back dramatically in sync, revealing a living skeleton in a pinstripe suit appearing from the depths of the fountain. The skeleton struck a theatrical pose and stepped out onto the square. The little man in the suit ran up to the skeleton man.

"Bravo, Jack, bravo!" he praised. "Those ghosts will be a big hit at this year's Halloween!"

Jack, the skeleton, smiled. "Thank you, Mayor, but their movements need a bit more work. It's not scary enough." Jack lifted his hands menacingly and bared his teeth. "I want to strike bone-chilling terror! I think I shall consult the Doctor!"

The short man, apparently the mayor of the town, clapped excitedly. "Then I'll go attend to the decorations!"

Jack bowed and walked towards a set of stairs that led to one of the larger houses. Sora had watched the whole interchange with interest, and was quite curious as to what was going on with this town, certainly one of the strangest worlds he had visited yet.

"I think we should follow that skeleton guy." Sora said. "Maybe he'll know something about the Keyhole."

Donald shrugged. "You just want to know what's up with the Heartless, don't you?"

"That too. Let's go!"

"Maybe _he_ was the one who made them sick!" Goofy suggested as he followed.

"Well, if he did, then I like the Heartless better like this." Sora said decidedly.

* * *

Inside the house, Sora found himself standing atop a balcony, looking over a expansive laboratory with all manner of equipment and machines crammed into it. Jack had just stepped off the stairs and was greeting a bald man in a lab coat, sitting in a wheelchair, which the man directed mechanically.

"Good evening, Doctor!" Jack said. "How goes your experiment?"

"Oh, Jack! You're just in time to witness my genius!" the Doctor spoke in a rough voice, pulling a lever beside him.

At once, machinery started chugging and smoke started pouring out from huge stacks. Electricity jumped from piece to piece, all leading to a ghost Heartless strapped unmoving to a table.

All in all, Sora decided this man was a mad scientist. So far this world was really living up to it's name.

When the all the action seemed to reach it's climax, the Heartless sat straight up, arms reaching out in front of it. Sora jumped. Almost immediately, though, the Heartless twitched and collapsed.

"Nonsense!" The Doctor pounded on his chair, and flipped off the machine. "My devices are always perfect!"

Jack snapped his fingers. "Oh, I've got it! Why, of course!" he smiled as if recognizing the obvious. "The Heartless need a heart! Then they shall dance! Doctor, do you think we can add a heart to that device?"

The Doctor, and Sora felt his stomach churn at this, opened up the top part of his head like a lid and scratched his brain.

"Ewwww...." Donald whispered, everyone agreeing silently.

"Certainly." the Doctor nodded. "A heart's not all that complicated. Let's get to work."

Jack turned to a bookshelf and scanned the selection. Picking out a certain book, he began to read. "To make a heart: First, take a heart-shaped container with a lock..." The Doctor reached into a cupboard and pulled out an item, just as described. The Heart-like container seemed to pump on it's own.

Sora could only shake his head. While Wonderland had been weird, this place was just strange. Really, really strange.

The Doctor sighed and placed a rubber-gloved hand to his face. "We need a key to this thing first!"

Sora had taken his first step down the stairs, Keyblade in hand, when Donald had stopped him.

"Sora!" he whispered. "What are you doing?"

Sora smiled. "Maybe giving the Heartless a heart will be the way to stop them for good!"

"--and you want to see them dance, don't you?"

"Well, yeah." Sora shrugged sheepishly. "Don't you?"

Donald sighed in parental impatience, but released his grip on Sora. "Not really..."

"Uh, excuse me!" Sora called down to the two beings, holding out Desert Keyblade.

"Why hello there, young man!" Jack greeted. "Do you think that key there will unlock the heart?"

Sora nodded.

Jack rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Excellent! Then come down here and we shall try!"

Sora took the rickety steps in a few bounds and soon stood in front of the container. He pointed the Keyblade at the lock and it released in a quiet click, slowly sliding off the container.

"My! That was amazing!" Jack said in awe. "And you are...?"

"I'm Sora! This is Donald and Goofy." Sora replied.

"Well then, well done, Sora!" Jack shook Sora's hand. It felt hard and slightly cold. Definitely a feeling Sora wouldn't soon forget, shaking hands with a skeleton.

"So what's that Heartless doing here?" Sora asked, hoping for an answer that had something to do with dancing.

"Oh, the Heartless came to town just recently." Jack held a hand tiredly to his forehead. "What's frustrating is I can't get them to dance with me! So the Doctor and I are trying to improve the guidance system." Jack gestured toward the Doctor proudly. "He's quite the genius! Okay, Doctor, let us continue." Jack turned the page of the book he still held in one hand. "The Ingredients for a Heart: Pulse!" The Doctor pulled out a bullfrog, croaking steadily, and hooked it up to the machine. Following this, Jack named off "Emotion", for which the Doctor used twin drama and comedy masks. Next, Jack called out for "Terror". For this, The Doctor twisted open a glass jar and pulled out a massive spider, causing Sora to involuntarily flinch back. Finally, Jack called out for "Hope and Despair", and the Doctor hooked up two snakes, each eating the other by the tail.

The whole idea struck Sora as very, very strange and just a smidgen wrong, but Jack had said the Doctor was a genius, so Sora watched them continue in their Heart-making.

"Mix them all together!" Jack raised his arms dramatically. "And we have a heart!"

The Doctor threw the switch for the machine and, just as before, the Heartless sat straight up, arms outstretched, only to limply collapse back to the table.

"It failed!" the Doctor growled. "Perhaps we are missing some ingredients. Let's try adding memory. Sally!" he called with no response. "Good-for-nothing girl! I don't know why I bothered creating her!" he turned to Jack. "Sally has the memory we need. See if you can track her down!"

Jack saluted the Doctor, who turned back to an unnamed project. "No problem!" the living skeleton swiveled to Sora. "Would you and your friends like to come along?" he asked.

Sora smiled. "Sure!"

"Now, if I were to guess, I would say that we could find Sally in the Cemetary. She really does love it there." Jack stepped onto the stairs, striking a heroic pose. "Let us see if I am right! "

* * *

As the foursome left the Doctor's laboratory, the short and triangular mayor ran up to them, dabbing bits of sweat off his face from running.

"Jack! Jack! We have a major crisis! The Heartless are completely out of control!" The Mayor spoke quickly and worriedly. "We can't stop them!"

"Hmmmm...." Jack thought. "Perhaps out experiments triggered something..." he smiled encouragingly. "Everything will be fine, Mayor, You have nothing to worry about!"

The Mayor gulped, unconvinced, and ran off. Sora looked out on the square and saw that the ghost Heartless were no longer floating at random, but instead had all taken to moving toward Sora and the others. And just as they had done in numerous other worlds, Sora, Donald and Goofy fought them off, with Jack's help. The skeleton man seemed to have at least a basic knowledge of magic, and used it well, albeit with his own dark twist.

"Why are the Heartless attacking us now?" Sora asked, slashing through one of the ghosts.

"Doctor Finkelstein's machines are very mysterious." Jack said, putting an extra, slightly scary, emphasis on the 'mysterious'. "They probably awakened something in the Heartless when we turned them on." Jack sighed. "And I so wanted them to dance at Halloween, too." he mourned, blasting one of the Heartless away with a thunder spell.

"Hey," Sora comforted. "Maybe they still can. We just gotta get that memory."

With the four of them fighting, the Heartless in the immediate area were disposed of fairly easily. From there, they immediately made their way to the cemetery.

Now, Sora had thought the town itself was dark and foreboding, but he found that the cemetery was that, multiplied by a few thousands. He had always been unnerved by graveyards, making sure to always steer far clear of them. He didn't know exactly why he bothered him so, maybe it was their close relation to death. Maybe it was that they always seemed dark and dreary, even in the middle of the day. Maybe it was just all the stones markers that perturbed him: little, mysterious Stonehenges to mark the the memory of those moved on.

And Sora could only think that the cemetery here seemed more for entertainment purposes than for the burying of the dead.

The gravestones sat spaced out, jutting from dark, grassless earth. Many leaned to odd angles and others had pieces chipped out. The moon, shining through the thin sheet of clouds, cast elongated shadows across much of the yard. Sora swallowed nervously, only comforted by the facts that he had the Keyblade, that his friends were here, and that he was still wearing the awesome vampire outfit. That made him feel a bit better.

Not that he didn't want to leave the cemetery as soon as possible.

"Sally? Oh, Sally!" Jack called out. "We're going to have the best Halloween ever, you know! We just need the memory you have for the heart we're making!"

"You mean this?" A young woman, pale blue in color, stepped out from behind a gravestone. In her cloth hands, she held a bouquet of withered Forget-Me-Nots. The girl herself seemed to be sowed together by many different pieces, showing stitching marks all over her arms and face. She wore a simple, patchwork dress and had brown hair that fell to her mid-back.

"Jack," she spoke. "I have a bad feeling about this. Why don't you try something else that doesn't involve the Heartless? There's still time, you know."

Jack smiled and took the flowers, patting her hand gently. "Nothing could beat what I have planned! Once we give the Heartless a heart," Jack looked off in the distance, enraptured with his imagination. "They'll dance just like I envision it! Trust me." he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're going to love it."

She nodded hesitantly.

Sora, happy that they had gotten what they came for, started to prod Jack back towards the town.

"Well, let's get back."

* * *

Meanwhile, in a mansion not far from the cemetery, three little eavesdroppers cowered beneath a large being. The three eavesdroppers were the troublemakers of Halloween Town, by name of Lock, Shock and Barrel. They clung to each other in fright, Halloween masks rattling in sync with their trembling, covered by the shadow of a rotund being, distinctly resembling a giant, living burlap sack.

The living sack chortled, black holes for eyes squinting in mirth. "A heart? That bonehead Jack is really making a heart? I'll be jiggered! Works for me!" he grinned. "Oooh, when I get mah hands on that...well, I got no hands." for a moment he studied the pointed stumps that his arms ended in. "But I'm still gonna nab that heart and control the Heartless!"

The old witch wouldn't be able to stop him from running the Heartless show now.

* * *

Back at Doctor Finkelstein's, the Doctor was busy examining the Forget-Me-Nots, before hooking them up to his machine. Sora wondered exactly how the Doctor had hooked flowers up to a machine, but hey, if it worked, it worked.

"Yes! This is it!" the Doctor nodded, reaching under his desk and pulling out a Jack-in-the-Box. "Now, we just need 'Surprise' to complete a Heart."

As the Doctor hooked the final ingredient in, Jack smiled devilishly. "Now! Let us make....a heart!"

Everything was ready, every ingredient hooked to it's proper place and Sora would be lying to say he wasn't excited. After all, this could help figure out how to stop the Heartless!

Just as the Doctor reached for the lever, three small children jumped from the balcony above and passed through the room in a flash, tripping the Doctor's chair and grabbing the Heart on the table.

The kids themselves each wore brightly colored clothing, along with a matching Halloween mask. One of the devil, another of a witch and the final of a skeleton.

As soon as they popped in, they were gone. Sora's eyes widened in amazement. They were _fast._

The Doctor shook his fist from where he had fallen."The nerve of those hooligans!" Jack helped him up, while the Doctor swatted him away the whole time.. "Stealing my work!"

Setting the Doctor right, Jack spoke as he rushed up the stairs and through the door. "Don't worry, Doctor! We'll find them!"

Following Jack outside, Sora and friends found themselves looking at an empty square with no idea on where the three kids had gone.

"So who were they?" Sora asked.

Jack shook his head shamefully. "Those three were Lock, Shock and Barrel. They are especially troublesome children who seem to love antagonizing me." he sighed. "This is just another in a long line of misdeeds."

"Well, we lost them." Donald said.. "Guess we just gotta make another heart." he looked at Sora. "Or, you know, just find the Keyhole?"

"Not so fast!" Jack warned. "I've still got something up my sleeve! Zero!" he called out.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a tiny dog no bigger than Donald's head flew around the corner, floated up to Jack and licked him on the face with it's ghost-like tongue.

It didn't phase Sora in the least that Jack's pet dog was a ghost. Of course. He was almost surprised at how regular this strange stuff were becoming.

Not that he really minded weirdness. It was so much fun to see all these new things and meet all these new people.

Jack rubbed the dog on it's head. "Quick, Zero! Find Lock, Shock and Barrel!"

Zero barked excitedly and zoomed off, causing everyone to have to run to keep up with the little ghost dog. They followed it through the cemetery, to Sora's chagrin,and out to the other side and then around a hill that reminded Sora of the curlycues he and Kairi had always liked having on their Ice Cream.

Past the curlycue hill, Zero led them through a ornate gate, and Jack's face changed to one of sudden knowledge.

"I should have known Oogie Boogie was behind this!" He slammed a fist into his open hand as they pulled to a stop on a cliff overlooking a circular canyon. A gargantuan, dead tree grew from the ground far below and built upon it seemed to be a strange mansion/treehouse amalgamation. Immediately in front of the group sat a rickety bridge, leading from the lip of the canyon to the large front door of the Mansion/Treehouse, built directly into the tree. Sora could only call it a house, because it seemed like the builder had aimed for the basic idea, but missed by a long shot. A few walls sat strewn up and down a wooden walkway that spiraled around the tree, but seemingly placed at random. A few rooms sat scattered, as well, but again connected only by the dangerous looking pathway.

"Who's Oogie Boogie?" Goofy asked.

Jack clenched his fist. "He's a villainous bag of bugs, always trying to foil my Halloween ideas. But this time he's gone too far!"

Goofy readied himself. "Well, let's go get that there heart back!"

After crossing the bridge, it took the combined efforts of Sora, Donald and Goofy to push the heavy door open. When they had, they found themselves looking directly at Lock, Shock and Barrel. The skeleton-masked one still held the heart close. Both sides stared at a each other for a moment, surprised at the others' appearance. Lock, Shock and Barrel's side broke first, and with a yell of their names, the two without the heart leapt onto Donald and Goofy's faces, scratching and biting and ripping.

"Wah! Get him off!" Donald yelled, trying to pull Lock from his face. Sora saw that Barrel, the one with the heart, stood back from the action. Taking advantage of the fact, Sora dove for the boy. Barrel, noticing this, screamed and ran. Sora hit the ground with a thud, followed by a cracking sound that moved from where he had landed, to all over the room. All movement stopped for a few precious moment before the weak floor gave way and all fell down into the blackness below.

* * *

Without much sound, everyone landed rather safely below, caught by a mass of spider webs. Sora noted for one brief second that the webs weren't sticky, before he and all the others tumbled through the many holes in the intricate pattern, falling the short distance to the ground below.

The room they fell into was lit with garishly bright colors, flashing at a random pace. A pedestal sat in the middle of the room, with all manner casino games sitting around it. The floor and walls themselves seemed to be decorated like a giant roulette table, and a slot machine display, flipping to a stop every few minutes, sat above a single dark door on the far side of the room

Lock, Shock and Barrel, noticing where they were, all screamed and disappeared. To where and how, Sora had no idea. He noticed that Barrel left the heart behind, thrown near the dark door. He stood up to get it when a pointed stump reached from the darkness and scooped it up. Out from the door stepped a round being, looking much like a huge sack, with stumpy legs and arms and huge mouth. Sora guessed that this was Oogie Boogie.

"Oh, Jack! You shouldn't have!" Oogie grinned and tossed the heart to his other 'hand'. "It's not even mah birthday!"

Jack stood to his feet and pointed a menacing finger at Oogie Boogie. "Give me back the heart, Oogie!"

"Jaaaack." Oogie slurred. "You want the heart? Then come on over and get'it!"

With that, the small square of floor he was standing on rose up so Oogie had a clear view of the entire room. With a laugh, Oogie Boogie swallowed the heart. It took Sora a moment to fully realize that Oogie had just stuffed the heart into his mouth and ate it. What was with this guy?

Oogie coughed a little and chuckled."Now let's see if I can get their attention!" he raised his arms. "Oh, Heartless!"

Two ghost Heartless floated from darkness to rest beside him.

Oogie's began to shake with rage at the lack of a Heartless army. "This is it? Nobody disrespects me! Nobody!" He roared and tossed two giant red dice downward toward Sora's group. The dice, upon hitting the ground, showed two sixes and exploded, sending everyone flying.

Oogie's whole body shook with laughter. "Let's go, Heartless! Show 'em who's boss!"

The two Heartless floated down toward the group, whilst three huge knives, connected in a triangular pattern, slid from the ceiling and started to slice at the ground, cutting one of the pool tables in half. Sora jumped out of the way of one just before the sharp blade came down upon him.

Oogie began to hum and dance on his pedestal. "Hmmm...Wo-ooh! Hmmm-mmm, wo-oh! 'Cause I'm the Boogie man!"

Sora quickly brought the Keyblade to his hand and slashed the approaching Heartless, sending it into darkness just as the knives started to slash up and down, moving in a circular pattern. The single other Heartless was slashed in half by the knives.

With everyone trying to dodge the knives, Oogie was left to continue to dance and sing on his platform. "You're joking! I can't believe my eyes! Hmmm-mm-m" he hummed. "This is the Keyblade Master who's made all the fuss?"

While Oogie was taken up with his singing, Donald was able to freeze one of the knives with a lucky shot, causing it to break into pieces when it hit the ground on it's downward slash. With only two knives left, it became significantly easier to survive. Oogie didn't seem to notice the loss of one of his weapons, or he simply shrugged it off.

"Mmm--Hmmm—ooh! 'Cause I'm the Boogie Man--" Oogie was cut short when a celebratory ringing sound was heard, causing everyone to flinch in surprise. Looking towards the origin of the sound, the slot machine above the door showed three sevens in a row.

Oogie peered closer and spoke with a face-splitting grin. "Well, looks like I won--"

Leaning too far, Oogie weight shifted and he fell over the side of his tower, into the middle of the giant roulette board, one of the knives just grazing him before they ground to a stop. Oogie chuckled. "Oh my, I'm feeling kinda ticklish!"

Suddenly, a seam on the side of Oogie's back split open, directly where the knife had grazed him. Out from the growing hole poured piles and piles of bugs. Bugs of all shape and color and size.

So, Sora thought, when Jack had called Oogie a "villainous bag of bugs" he had meant literally. Oogie began to moan as his bag began to split in more places and more bugs began to pour out, skittering off to hide in the holes and crags of the manor. Sora, feeling a little squeamish at the sight, looked away.

Oogie's groans continued for a minute or so, before the room settled into complete quiet. Sora looked back to see the Heart container, covered in goo and muck, sitting in the middle of a flat burlap bag. With a slight grimace, Sora picked up the heart and handed it to Jack. Below it he found a slimy page of Ansem's Report, which he pocketed himself.

Wiping his hands off on his pant leg, Sora smirked. "Now that's what you call heart failure..."

Everyone groaned and turned to leave.

"What?" Sora called after them. "I thought it was good!"

* * *

Having locked the Keyhole, which had been discovered to be the pale moon that glared down on the Town, the group had returned to the Doctor's laboratory. There, Jack had dramatically taken Sally by the hand and bowed his head in shame.

"Oh, Sally, Sally, why didn't I listen to you?" he lamented. "I suppose we'll have to cancel the Heartless Halloween Festival..."

Sally smiled graciously at Jack. "Don't feel bad, Jack, we'll come up with another plan for Halloween." she gently pushed his chin up to look at him. "This time, we'll do it together."

Jack's face took on new found hope as he gazed back at Sally, mind already flashing through new ideas at the speed of light.

As Jack and Sally began to talk about new Halloween Festival ideas, the Doctor, still attempting to make his heart, pounded the table in frustration.

"Emotion...Memory...we put in _all_ the necessary ingredients! What else do you need to make a heart?!"

Goofy took on a thoughtful look. "Gawrsh, what is a heart, anyway?"

The Doctor shook his head and turned back to his work. "I just can't figure it out!"

Sora snorted and ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't help but think that the idea of making a heart like that had been silly from the beginning. This had been one weird world.

But boy, would he have stories to tell Kairi when he finally found her!

If only he could keep the vampire costume...

* * *

_**The Report of Ansem: Studies into the Heart:**_

_**Part Seven**_

_I am now studying material from the meteors that rained down that fateful night. What a find! The material is foreign to our world. It is elastic to the touch, and when two pieces are combined, they bond easily._

_None of the records I've scoured even mention such a substance. Was it introduces to this world when I opened that door? I wonder how many other such materials drift through the atmosphere of this tiny world...it would be quite profitable to soar off and find out! If only..._

_Could there be uncharted worlds up there? My curiosity never ceases to grow. But I should stop speaking of such unrealistic dreams. For now, there is no way to venture outside this world. My people and I are all but prisoners of this tiny place._

_**~Ansem**_

* * *

* * *

_Sooo...Chapter 15. It seemed very short. Staccatoed, with a dash of crack. A small reprieve before the endgame begins. Honestly, I feel kinda dissatisfied with this chapter...Halloween Town was very strange/hard to write, so please let me know how it sounded to you. I'd be sooooo very much in you debt!_

_Lessee, anything else big...I don't know, maybe BBS' RELEASE AND AQUA'S SHEER AWESOMENESS!!!!!!!  
__Like, woah, Aqua is just about my favorite KH character now. She's reaching Xemnas and Luxord levels of amazing._

_Squeenix better pick her US voice well, or THEY SHALL SUFFER MINE WRATH!  
__(wrath=complain on the internet)_

_Have a safe and happy new decade, everybody!  
__~Mars_


	16. Straight on 'Til Morning

_If I owned Kingdom Hearts, KHII would've been much, much more difficult._

_With this chapter we surpass 100,000 words! YAY! _

_Thanks for reading, guys._

* * *

_**Chapter XVI: Straight on 'til Morning  
**__Where did I go wrong?  
__I lost a friend somewhere along in the bitterness and  
__would've stayed up with you all night  
__had I known how to save a life.  
__~How to Save a Life by the Fray_

Sora sat in the Gummi Ship, studying his normal attire in his reflection on the windshield. It seemed so...colorful in comparison to his vampire outfit. The red especially stood out to him now. Maybe he should get new clothes.

Pulling out the Keyblade, Sora admired the new look of it. Before leaving, Jack had given him a pumpkin keychain, saying that it looked like it could fit at the end of his sword. After placing it on the Keyblade, the saber had changed into a long and black weapon, with a decoration of a bat at the end, folded, sharp wings replacing the hook of the Desert Keyblade. It was probably Sora's favorite of the blade changes so far.

In addition to the new Keyblade, Donald had found another page from Merlin's book sticking out of the lowers shelves of the Doctor's bookcase. Bringing it back to the ship with them, Donald had placed it with the other three.

"Hey Sora! Stop daydreaming and pay attention to where you're driving!" Donald slapped Sora on the knee with his wand, causing the boy to yelp.

"Oh, c'mon Donald, it's not like there's anything to run into out here. Just space...and more space...oh look, a world! And then more space...and more—"

"Shut up will ya?"

Sora laughed and lazily leaned back in his chair. "So what are you guys gonna do after you find your King?"

"Gawrsh, I never really thought about it before." Goofy replied.

"Probably go back to Disney Castle." Donald answered. "We did our job."

"But what about us? You guys are my friends. Will I be able to see you two again?" Sora asked.

"O'course, Sora!" Goofy ruffled Sora's spiky hair. "We can all visit each other with the Gummi Ship!"

"What about you?" Donald asked. "What are you gonna do after you find your friends?"

Sora grinned at a future where he was with Riku and Kairi. "I guess we'd find a way to get the Islands back and all live there." Sora's face fell. "If Riku even wants to go with me...I think he hates me now."

"Aw, I don't think he hates you! He's your best friend after all!" Goofy encouraged. "His heart's just a little bit messed up is all!"

Sora shrugged, remaining slightly unconvinced. He just didn't get what was going on with Riku. "Maybe me n' Kairi together can convince him to come back with us."

Donald and Goofy looked at each other slyly, smirks adorning their faces. Goofy chuckled through his hand.

"What's the count up to, Goofy?" Donald asked his compatriot.

"A-hyuck, one-hundred and sixty-five, I think." Goofy mischievously answered.

"Say what?" Sora asked.

Donald chuckled. "That's the number of times you've mentioned Kairi, Sora."

"Yup!" Goofy joined in with a laugh.

"Oh." Sora rubbed the back of neck out of habit. "You guys kept count?"

Suddenly, the Gummi Ship rocked to the side, hit by something from behind. Sora tumbled from his seat, briefly wondering why the craft had no way to strap themselves in.

"What was that?" Donald groaned pulling himself up from where he had fallen to look out the viewport. "Uh, guys, you should have a look at this..."

Simultaneously, Sora and Goofy pulled themselves up on either side of Donald. Out in space, just turning around from passing them, a large ship flew by. Sora gaped. Whales in space and now sailing ships. Sora noticed at the top of the ship that a Jolly Roger flew, stiff in the windless void of space. Two or three cannons launched an attack from the deck of the ship, all of them missing the Gummi.

Pirates. They were Pirates. In space.

In as much danger as they were in, Sora couldn't help but find something strangely cool about that.

Another shot from the ship, and Donald quickly pushed the joystick into a dive. Jumping into the main chair, the duck mage began to jink and jive the ship, trying not staying in one place for too long. They couldn't let the cannons hit them. As side affect of the quick movements, Sora and Goofy were thrown around the cabin like ping-pong balls. The ship groaned under the sudden pressure it was being subjected to, letting out a sound hideously close to a human scream. Sora could only guess they had been hit, but didn't have much time to figure it out definitively before his world went black.

* * *

Sora felt hard wood against his face. It was smooth, shaved down by years of use. Sora pushed himself to his feet and saw that he was now on the deck of the pirate ship that had attacked them earlier, albeit no longer in space. Instead, the ship now floated leisurely in large lagoon. Sora could just catch a glimpse of land far off in the night sky, the edges of some island that the pirate ship had docked at.

"I've been waiting for you to come to, Sora." a voice spoke to him. "To be painfully honest, I wasn't sure you would come after her at all."

Sora gasped and gazed upwards at the deck above him. Standing nonchalantly beside the wheel of the ship was none other than Riku. Sora gulped. Could he convince Riku to come with him and not continue with whatever he was doing?

His friend smiled. "Good to see you again, too."

Recovering from the shock, Sora noticed that Donald and Goofy weren't with him. Did Riku do something to them?

"Where are Donald and Goofy, Riku?" Sora asked.

Riku snorted. "Are they that important to you?" he shook his head in shame. "More important than old friends? Come on, Sora, instead of worrying about them, you should be asking..." Riku took a casual step to the side. "About her."

Another gasp escaped Sora's lips as Riku's movement revealed the still form of Kairi, propped up in a sitting position, legs spread out on either side. Sora could see that she was breathing softly, her eyes laying half-open, small blue slits on her face. Was this really Kairi, this time? Had Riku had found her!

But why did she look so sick?

"Kairi!" Sora took a few steps forward.

As if reading his mind, Riku responded. "That's right. While you were off goofing around, I finally found her."

Sora wanted desperately to run to Kairi and make sure she was okay, but he doubted Riku would let him do that. His friend seemed to have something against him, Sora only wished he knew what it was.

Thinking for a moment, Sora decided to forget about what Riku might do, and charged toward the ladder that led to the upper level. Suddenly, a silver hook fell in front of his face, stopping him in his tracks.

"Not so fast." A British voice spoke through a congested nose. "I'll have no shenanigans aboard my vessel, boy."

Sora followed the hook up the arm, dressed in a ornate red coat, and past the sharp rapier hung at the belt. Past the long, thick black hair and up to a thin face with a long, pointed black mustache. A fancy hat, with a large plume, sat atop the man's head. He frowned. Behind him, several Heartless, dressed as Pirates, appeared. Beside the red-coated man stood a few agitated-looking pirates, dressed in what Sora had always imagined would be pirate-garb: Bandanas, swords, peg legs and tattered shirts. A particularly short man with a pot belly stood beside the red-coated man in sharp contrast.

Sora, deciding to stay exactly where he was, looked back to Riku.

"Riku, why are you siding with the Heartless?"

Riku smiled conceitedly, as if Sora was too stupid to understand certain facts of life.

"The Heartless obey _me_ now, Sora. I have nothing to fear from them."

"You're stupid!" Sora yelled. His voice cracked, but he didn't care. Riku balked, taking a step back in surprise. "Sooner or later they'll swallow your heart!"

Riku took a moment to return to his self-assured attitude. "Not a chance, my heart's too strong."

"Riku..." Sora trailed off, concerned for the danger his friend had placed himself in.

"I've picked up a few tricks as well..." Riku raised a hand. "Like this, for instance."

With a flick of the wrist, a black copy of Sora floated up from the ground. Sora's eyes widened in shock. The black copy was an exact replica of Sora, if the boy had been painted as dark as night and given the ability to float. The only distinguishable feature on the creature was the pair of glowing yellow eyes.

What did Riku just do?

Riku smirked. "You can go see your friends now"

With that, Sora felt the floor drop out beneath him and he fell.

* * *

Captain Hook, captain of the _The Jolly Roger, _grinned maniacally at the hole the young Keyblade Master had fallen into. He was simultaneously overjoyed at the success and surprised that it had worked. He had placed that trap door there on a whim, never actually expecting someone to fall through it. Well, not quite true. Perhaps he had occasionally dropped members of his crew below for his personal amusement. Perhaps. Hook had felt quite satisfied watching the boy stand there, completely unaware of what lay beneath him, and even more so when he fell.

"Let's get underway already." Riku spoke from the deck above. "And keep Sora away from Kairi until we're ready to land."

Hook glared angrily at Riku as he gingerly scooped up his lady friend and walked away to Hook's very own cabin! The nerve of that brat! Hook had hardly thought that the boy would be this much of a pest when Maleficent had brought him onboard. Hardly worth the trouble, Hook thought, what could Maleficent possibly see in him? This Riku had done hardly anything but order Hook and his crew about _The Jolly Roger_ his entire stay, and Hook was tiring of it to say the least.

He turned to his stumpy first mate. "That scurvy brat thinks he can order me around, Smee! On me on very own ship!"

"What shall we do, Captain Hook?" Smee responded in his docile manner. That's what Hook liked about the man: he took orders without question.

"Nothing!" Hook declared. "The hold is crawling with Heartless. Let _them_ keep an eye on the brats!"

Hook sneered. Playing babysitter to these children was growing tiring.

"But, Captain, you-know-who is also down-"

_Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock._

Hook shuddered at the awful sound. Smee's voice was slowly droned out by the constant tick-tock of a clock, reminding him of the ever-present danger in the sea. That horrid, horrid sound! Curse it!

"Smee!" Hook whispered. "Do hear that, Smee? That dreadful sound?"

Smee cocked his head in confusion. "No, Captain."

Hook looked worriedly side to side. He ran to the edge of the ship and peered hurriedly over the edge, his crew gathering around him. Nothing. The gulf was calm. Hook dabbed at his brow with a white handkerchief.

"Oh, my poor nerves..." he groaned.

Suddenly, one of his crew screamed behind him. All his men turned to find a short, rather stocky looking fellow, on his back with two or so of those accursed Heartless sitting on his chest. Hook watched in disdain. He would much rather do without those pesky little insects.

"Help, please! Don't let them-! Please!" the pirate yelled. Hook and the crew took a step back and watched as the unlucky pirate made one last attempt to move, before being put to a stop by a bold Heartless sticking it's three-fingered claw through his chest, and pulling out the man's heart. No scream left on his lips, no time for anything more than a desperate plead for help.

Having gotten what they wanted, the Heartless disappeared.

The crew stood awkwardly around where the man's body had been, now disappeared like all other bodies did when the Heartless take their prize. One of the pirates coughed. Hook sneered.

"Go about your business, men."

Damnable brat and his damnable Heartless.

* * *

"You don't say?" Goofy replied.

Sora nodded and peered back out the barred window. "Yeah, it was definitely Kairi! I've finally found her!" Sora grinned stupidly to himself. It was really Kairi! No more of this 'Oh, here I am but I'm not really here' stuff. This was really Kairi!

"All righty then!" Goofy laughed and clapped Sora on the shoulder. "Then let's go up and talk to her!"

Taking a step forward, Sora slipped and fell to ground. Donald laughed. "Told you you're shoes would mess up your walking!"

Sora rubbed his back where he had fallen. "Hah, very funny, Donald, but we can't blame my shoes for this. I think I slipped on something." Looking down, Sora saw a small, red orb, very similar to the one Leon had given him. Another summoning orb? Sora wondered what poor being was stuck inside this one. He scooped it up and placed it in his pocket.

"Ahem, hi!" a new voice called out, poking it's head out from behind a behind a pile of boxes. "How ya doin' there? You looking for a way out?"

This new person looked to be about Sora's age, dressed up all in green with a pointed hat covering a full head of red hair, certainly in contrast to the green. A small dagger was hooked at his waist and a smug smile covered his features.

"Who are you?" Donald asked in surprise.

The new boy grinned. "Why, I'm the answer to your prayers!"

Donald sneered and turned away, not responding.

"Okay then, fine, have it your way." he shrugged.

"But you're stuck in here, aren't you?" Sora asked.

The boy snorted. "Hah! Naw, I'm just waitin' for someone!"

"Who?" Sora asked.

Suddenly a little bubble of light floated through the bars and came to a rest in front of the boy.

"Tinker Bell! What took you so long?" the boy scolded the small light, which Sora could see was now a tiny girl. Kinda like a fairy, he supposed. Not that he knew anything or fairies or something. That was girl stuff.

Lucky for him Kairi didn't like that really girly stuff either.

The fairy, Tinker Bell, sparkled, which the boy seemed to interpret as language.

"Great job! So you found Wendy?" the boy confirmed.

Tinker Bell sparkled again.

"Hold on a'minute, there was another girl there, too?"

Sora suddenly became very interested in their conversation. More sparkling.

The boy looked offended. "Are you crazy? There's no way I'm gonna leave Wendy there!"

"Aha! She must be pretty jealous!" Donald injected himself into the conversation laughing. Tinker Bell turned a bright shade of red and flew over to Donald, promptly kicking him in the face with her small legs.

"Waaah!" Donald yelled, rubbing his face. Tinker Bell nodded angrily at him and flew out the bars in a huff.

The boy ran over to the door and shook at the bars after his fairy-friend. "C'mon, Tink! Open the door!"

Sora shook his head in amusement and pulled out the Keyblade. He pointed it at the lock and, with a click, the door creaked open. The boy turned around a stared at Sora, impressed. Only for a minute though, before the smug smile returned. He held out a hand.

"'Name's Peter Pan."

"I'm Sora." he reached out his hand for a shake, but Peter pulled his back quickly.

"Okay, we're in this together." he warned. "But only 'til we find Wendy."

Sora had a feeling this guy might get a little annoying.

Passing through the door, the group was forced to defeat a seven or eight of the pirate Heartless. It was nothing terribly difficult, but during the course of the fight, Sora learned two things about this boy called Peter Pan. First, he was quite adept with his small dagger. Second, he could fly. Sora had been so distracted when he saw Peter jump into the air and not return to the ground, leaving a trail of shimmering dust behind him, that one of the Heartless had nearly gotten him. It would've, if it hadn't been for Donald's magic.

"So, uh, how come you can fly?" Goofy asked, blocking a Heartless attack with his shield.

Peter smiled and stabbed another Heartless. "Anyone can fly! You wanna try?"

Sora and Goofy nodded quickly, while Donald, as always, was slightly hesitant.

With the Heartless gone for the moment, Peter whistled and the fairy flew to him from wherever she had been sulking. Sora noted that she still looked decidedly angry.

"Aw, haven't you cooled off yet, Tink?" Peter groaned. Tinker Bell responded by turning to leave, but Peter's hand snapped out and grabbed her small form, proceeding to shake her over Sora, Donald and Goofy. "Just a little bit of pixie dust..." he said to himself.

Sora cringed at the fairy being violently shaken above him, but Peter soon let her go and she quickly flew away, albeit a dizzied, veering, jumbled flight.

Peter grinned as if he hadn't just shaken the dust out of a tiny pixie. "There, now you can fly! Just think happy thoughts!"

Sora, without any hesitation or doubt, squeezed his eyes shut and thought of the Islands, of Riku coming back with him, of finding Kairi and giving her a huge hug. He blushed a little at the last one.

When he opened his eyes, Sora jumped when he realized his feet were no longer touching the ground. The jump didn't end up doing much, just shifting him slightly to the side, but Sora didn't think about this. He was flying. _Flying. _

This. Was. So. Cool!

* * *

This was inane.

Riku pounded a gloved fist onto Hook's large desk in the Captain's cabin, sending a few scattered objects careening to the ground. He relaxed in Hook's high-back, cushioned chair, leaning his head on one hand.

How had this happened?

How had that girl Wendy, while she was trying to escape, somehow found Kairi here in the cabin? How had she then taken Kairi and dragged her with her? And, more importantly, where on the ship were they now?

Slowly, Riku spoke up. "Wendy Darling is not one of the Princesses."

"What?" Hook replied angrily from where he had been standing across the desk.

"There are Seven, supposedly." Riku spoke on the subject with an utter lack of interest, his thoughts completely taken up with Kairi missing status. "And Maleficent says she's not one of them. We need to be rid of her." his eyes slanted dangerously at Hook. "If we actually still had her captured and not running around your ship."

Hook held back a sneer and ignored the jab."But after all the trouble of capturing her? What is Maleficent planning, anyway?"

Riku chuckled to himself at the thought that even Maleficent's pawns had no idea of what she wanted to do. "Who knows...as long as it means getting Kairi's heart back, I couldn't care less."

"You're wasting your time!" Hook smiled wickedly. "The Heartless have devoured that girl's heart. I'll stake me other hand it's lost forever..." a raised eyebrow from Hook made clear to Riku that the man across from him had just issued a challenge.

Riku wasn't in the mood for challenges. Kairi was missing and she needed to be found. He was tired. Tired of this. Tired of working for Maleficent, tired of fighting Sora every step of the way, of this idiotic Captain and his incessant bothering. He was tired of searching for ways to save Kairi.

He just wanted it to be normal again. He just wanted Kairi to be okay.

And Hook was not helping with that goal.

"You know what?" Riku pushed himself to his feet and leaned across the desk, staring Hook straight in the eye. "I'm going to find her heart, and when I do, I'll come back and chop your other hand off." he smiled. "Just to show you what I'm capable of."

Hook looked stunned at this outburst, rubbing his good hand uncomfortably.

"Uh...Captain..." came the whiny voice of Smee through the small tube that worked as the _The Jolly Roger's_ communication system. "The prisoners have escaped and what's more, Peter Pan is with them!"

Riku collapsed back in the chair. Wonderful. Go, Sora!

"Blast that Peter Pan!" Hook stomped his foot.

Riku massaged his temples.

Stupid, moronic captain and his stupid, moronic incompetence.

* * *

"Weeeeeeee!" Sora nearly crashed into a wall as he zoomed down one of the hallways of the ship. Flying, he had decided, was an experience unlike any other. The weightlessness, the air flowing around you, the feeling as if you're laying in a ocean of soft, downy blankets.

"Hello? Hello, is someone down there?" came a soft voice from above. The group of four stopped their careless flying and focused their attention to the ceiling, where a barred, metal trapdoor showed a young, female face peeking through it.

"Wendy?" Peter perked up and sailed closer to the hole. He smiled. "Hey, Wendy, it is you!"

"Please hurry, Peter. The pirates are coming!" the girl, Wendy, anxiously peeked to the side where Sora assumed the door was. "I barricaded the entrance with a bureau, it did take so very much work, but those terrible men are going to break through soon!"

"What? I'll be right there, just hold on!" Peter grabbed onto the bars and shook them, trying to break the grate open. It jostled and creaked, but held fast with rust.

"Wendy?" Sora called up as Peter kept with his attempts at breaking in.

"Yes, who is this?" Wendy asked.

"I'm Sora." he introduced. "Is there another girl in there with you?"

"Oh! Why yes! I found her in the Captain's Cabin while trying to escape." Sora followed Wendy's eyes, but could only just glimpse a small hand resting limply over the grate. "But she seems to be asleep, she hasn't budged an inch..."

"Kairi?" Sora called out softly, floating up to rest beside Peter, who had taken to fiddling with the lock with his dagger. Sora reached as much of his hand as he could through the bar, trying to touch Kairi's. "Kairi? Are you okay?"

Sora's hand had barely grazed her small fingers, when a crash was heard and and Wendy disappeared out of view. With Wendy's scream, Sora heard the bureau topple and the pirates break in. What Sora could see of Kairi was dragged out of view.

"No!" Sora yelled and tried reaching further, grasping at empty air. One especially nasty-looking pirate took notice. He walked up to the grate, snarling, and stomped Sora's hand. Sora pulled his hand back through the grate with a scream of pain, his middle and ring finger hanging at completely wrong angles. Pain coursed through his body from the two horribly broken fingers, each movement bringing forth a new wave of unbearable agony up his arm.

Without thinking, he involuntarily casted a Cure spell on himself, wanting nothing more than to be rid of the pain. With a green glow, his fingers straightened themselves out and, with a final, painful, snap, locked back into their proper place.

"That was disgusting." Donald cringed.

"Gawrsh, you okay, Sora?" Goofy asked, examining his friend's hand. Sora nodded and was surprised to not feel faint. Previously, when he had used Cure on himself, it had sapped nearly all of his mental strength. This time, though, he felt fine and, aside from a slight soreness in his finger, thought he could actually cast another Cure spell and not exhaust his mind.

"Got it!" Peter exclaimed and, with a rusted whine, forced the grate open. It fell off it's hinges and clattered to the the way now clear, and Sora more determined than ever to get Kairi back, the group, after some fighting between Sora and Peter as to who would go through first, flew upward through the hole to the floor above them.

* * *

"Didja see dat, Blackjack?" Cofresi held the squirming girl close in his arms, so as not to allow her to escape. Captain's orders they be brought to his cabin. He had heard the Captain wanted to be rid of the girl now, but Cofresi couldn't help but wonder why. It had been a lot of trouble to get that girl in the first place. He decided it probably had to do with that young welp who the Captain had brought back with him from Hollow Bastion. Cursed kid, the ship was better off with the silver-haired troublemaker.

"See wut, mate?" Blackjack asked, adjusting the petite redhead he had slung carelessly over his shoulder.

"Ya mean ya didn't see it?" Cofresi exclaimed. "The way dat girl you got dere seemed to be reaching out for that grate when we picked 'er up?"

"Yar daft, man!" Blackjack replied. "Ain't this girl supposed to be in a deep sleep or somesuch? Nigh impossibles to awaken, I hear."

Cofresi nodded and pulled out his dagger, holding it close to the Wendy girl's throat. That shut her up. "Aye, true that may be, but I swear that I saw her reach out for the lad down below."

"Ya mean before ya stomped his fingers?"

"Eh," Cofresi shrugged. " 'e had it coming. Can't have any more brats than we alreadies do runnin' 'bout the ship."

"I hope that doesn't include me..." Cofresi stopped in his tracks when he heard the soft voice of that Riku lad. It always gave Cofresi the chills to see that boy just suddenly appear from the netherworld, right out of thin air. Almost magical, one could say.

"I'll take Kairi now." he said reaching out his hands and gently lifting the girl from Blackjack's shoulder, taking her in his arms bridal style. "You should really learn how to be more careful when carrying such important people."

" 'Tis not like she cares much!" Blackjack gave a hearty laugh, nudging Cofresi with his elbow. Cofresi remained in awkward silence, noticing the look on Riku's face change, and not for the better, he might add. With a barely noticeable nod of the head on the part of the boy, a dozen or so pirate Heartless leapt from pools of darkness, jumping upon Blackjack like crocodiles that hadn't eaten for days. As the Heartless devoured the pirate, who had no time for even an exclamation of fear, Cofresi shuddered and looked away, as the girl he still held fainted dead away. Nasty business this was, making deals with devils like this. Little demons 'o hell those Heartless were. The Captain should've never gotten involved with this witchcraft.

When Cofresi looked back, Riku, the girl, the Heartless and Blackjack were gone. Vanished.

Cofresi shook his head. Demons. Demons the lot of 'em.

* * *

Having followed the winding corridors of the Pirate ship, Sora, Peter, Donald and Goofy found themselves in an ornate room, with a large desk and a high-back chair. A four-poster bed sat to one side and next to it, a small piano. Large glass windows on either side gave a glorious view of the just-setting sun, which sent rainbows colors careening wildly across the sky.

But, at the moment, none of this mattered to Sora. One thing in particular had his mind's full attention, and that was Riku standing casually in the middle of the room, Kairi limp in his arms. A strange darkness seemed to seep from his feet, forming a small puddle of black beneath him.

Riku smiled fiendishly. "Good to see you again, Sora."

Sora ran forward. "Riku, wait!"

Riku shrugged and was swallowed by a pod of darkness, leaving nothing but the pool of ink behind. Suddenly, the puddle seemed to take on a life of it's own and shot it's way across the floor until it was underneath Sora's feet. Feeling as though there was nothing below him, Sora fell into the blackened abyss to the sound of Donald and Goofy yelling his name.

Sora slowed to stop in an endless realm of blacks and purples, a realm of nothing but endless dark surrounding him.

"W-Where am I? Hello?" Sora called out. There was no response except for the heavy clack of shoes hitting the ground. The sound gradually got closer until Sora caught glimpse of a pair of yellow eyes against the dark.

"Soooorrraaaaa..." a deep, gravelly voice hissed. Sora stood stock still, fear shivering up his spine. The being in front of him was the dark clone that Riku had created when Sora had first awoken on the pirate ship. It let out an echoing breath and smiled with a row of glistening teeth. White teeth and yellow eyes against the black. The unabated grin lent itself to a look of complete and utter insanity, as did the jerky movements and pupiless, sickly yellow eyes.

"What—What are you?" Sora asked. The being didn't reply, opting instead to answer with it's dark Keyblade, which it swung straight at Sora's head. Sora barely brought his own Halloween Keyblade up in time to block it. Oddly, it seemed almost like he had known the being was going to strike at his head. Again the being swung at Sora, and Sora again blocked it without thinking, two eyes, one blue, the other yellow, never leaving each other.

Slowly, but with increasing speeds, the attacks and blocks became faster and faster until both Keyblade were crashing together in a deft symphony. The blades clashed with metallic clangs over and over, never once letting the other have an attack unanswered. For every blow, there there was a perfect block. For every block, there was a perfect counterattack. For every counterattack, there was a was a perfect block and the process repeated. Sora could only guess that this being was a clone of him, made from the darkness, and it thereby had every one of his strengths and weaknesses. It knew every move he was going to make even before he made them. His only saving grace was that he knew the same for it.

Their battle continued for hours, or what felt like hours, with no side gaining an upper hand in the slightest. Sora wondered briefly if a being made of darkness would ever get tired or worn out. What would happen when he just couldn't fight anymore? What would happen to all his friends if he was defeated here, alone in this black world?

A swift elbow to Sora's jaw interrupted his thoughts, sending him flying backwards. The dark clone had taken advantage of Sora's distraction to break the stalemate.

Sora sat up, unconsciously bringing the Keyblade up to block an attack that never came. The dark clone, which Sora had finally decided to call AntiSora, just stood in front of him, blank eyes staring at his chest. Sora looked down and was surprised to see a light growing there. The light grew brighter and brighter, slowly revealing the black realm to be a stain glass pillar. Sora felt like he should know this place, but he couldn't quite place it. AntiSora, which had run to the other side of the circle to escape the light, hissed in pain as it began to touch it. The hiss slowly grew into a full-fledged scream, a shriek that shook the pillar. Sora covered his ears to block out the painful sound, and stood to his feet.

While AntiSora convulsed, Sora was astounded to see what was etched on the stain glass below him:

Kairi, hands held close to her heart and eyes closed in an agitated sleep.

What was this place?

AntiSora's scream reached a new decibel and Sora noticed the the stain glass beginning to crack. Zig-zagged lines spider-webbed across the floor until it finally shattered, sending Sora and AntiSora falling into the darkness below them. As he fell, Sora could only wonder where that light had come from. What did he have that the darkness clone didn't?

Suddenly, the dark world around him shattered like the stain-glass, slowly replaced by the browns and reds of the pirate ship Cabin. AntiSora hung in the air motionless for a moment before it flew forward, disappearing into Sora.

Sora screamed as a black pain weighed down on his mind, clouding his vision and sending his world spinning. He felt his body fall and keep falling, through the floor and into another room below him. He heard a female scream before the world went black. Again.

* * *

Flashes.

Flashes of a girl.

Flashes of Peter.

Flashes of Donald yelling angrily out a window at someone. Flashes of Goofy and Donald, and a feeling of being carried. Dizzying, confusing flashes, whitened at the edges. What had happened?

"_Sora? You okay? Wake up!" _

"_...Kairi...?"_

Sora awoke to the worried faces of Donald and Goofy hovering over him.

"Sora are you okay?"

"Where...where am I?"

"Gawrsh," Goofy said. "After Riku disappeared, you stopped moving there for a sec, before you just crashed to the ground."

"Yeah, you fell through a trapdoor. That girl that the stupid boy in the green had been looking for was down there." Donald continued.

"Wendy..." Sora nodded.

"Yeah, Wendy. But as soon as we found her, the flying idiot took off without even a second glance!" Donald stomped his foot. "I told you he was no good."

"Peter...Peter left?" Sora asked, not surprised. What was that guy's problem? Sora sat straight up in the bed Donald and Goofy had apparently placed him, dizziness washing over his head. "We gotta...we gotta go find...Riku..."

"Maybe you shouldn't get up so fast, Sora." Goofy recommended.

Donald peeked out the door to the deck where the Gummi Ship still sat. "I think he's right Goofy. The sooner we get off this pirate ship, the better."

Sora rolled slowly off the bed, using the Keyblade to support him. "Let's get out of here."

Goofy, who had joined Donald at the door, spoke up. "Uh, I think we might have a problem..."

Sora walked slowly to the door, grabbing what looked like a page of Ansem's Report from Hook's desk, and pushed his way through. "What is it-" his voice dropped off when his eyes fell upon the well-dressed, red-clothed man from earlier, holding a small lantern box with the pixie Tinkerbell inside, surrounded by a small army of pirate Heartless.

The red clothed man, the Captain, if Sora remembered, smiled in welcome. "Quite the codfish that Riku, eh? Running off with that girl without even saying goodbye!"

Sora, still suffering a dizzying headache and severe case of being fed up with the constant problems, pointed the Keyblade threateningly at the Captain. "Run off where? Tell me now, where did he go?"

The Captain shrugged. "Why, to the ruins of Hollow Bastion, where Maleficent resides."

Sora's eyes widened at the reveal that Riku was with Maleficent. He realized that he probably should've figured it out before. Perhaps he had, but he just hadn't wanted to accept it.

And what was 'Hollow Bastion' and why did the name send shivers down his spine?

"But you won't be going there." The Captain continued with a sneer. "Unless you intend to leave your little pixie friend behind?" he shook the lantern case to prove his point.

Sora bit his lip. He knew that, with all his heart, he wanted to go after Riku and Kairi immediately. But, he knew that Tinkerbell needed help and, even though he didn't know her that well, he knew that he would help her.

The Captain smiled at Sora's fallen face. "Hand over the Keyblade and I'll spare your lives. Be glad I, Captain Hook, am merciful, unlike the Heartless!" he laughed and gestured to the dark creatures all around him. "So which will it be? The Keyblade or the plank?"

Sora hung his head and threw the Keyblade to the Captain. Hook quickly passed the lantern box to his stumpy first mate and caught the Keyblade in his good hand.

"Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" He studied the Keyblade. "Oh well, throw the pixie overboard, Smee, time to set sail."

_Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock_

Suddenly, Sora heard the rhythmic ticking of a clock. The sound caused quite the reaction in Captain Hook, who's face took on a look of sheer terror.

"It's him! The crocodile that took me hand! He be after me other hand, for sure! I can't stay here!" Hook stumbled and ran to his cabin, the Keyblade disappearing from his hand and reappearing back to a surprised Sora. "Smee, you take care of them!"

With Hook gone, and Keyblade back in hand, Sora took to destroying the Heartless on the deck. It didn't take the three friends long to eliminate the final beings of darkness, at which point Smee fainted from fright, dropping Tinkerbell's glass cell in the process. From across the deck, Sora dove to catch it, but at the last second a green form swooped in and grabbed hold of the small prison, opening it to release Tinkerbell.

"Peter?" Sora looked quizzical. He hadn't expected the boy to come back, considering how self-centered and obnoxious he was.

"We thought you left, you big idiot!" Donald roared.

Peter grinned smugly as Tinkerbell alighted on his hat. "What? You thought I'd leave Tink behind?"

Sora shook his head. This guy just didn't make sense to him.

"Smee? Did you finish them off?" All heads turned to hear Hook's voice speaking through a cracked door.

"Nope, we finished them off!" Donald pointed his wand at Hook threateningly.

"So are you ready to make a splash, you codfish?" Peter pulled out his dagger.

"Codfish? You dare to call me a codfish? Blast you, Peter Pan!" Hook stepped fully from the door and pulled out his long rapier. "I shall cut you all to ribbons!"

Hook charged forward, sword moving like snake to bite. It struck accurately in one place, only to quickly strike in another as if it were a perfect dance routine of precision. Hook was fast, that much Sora was sure of, as he blocked the attacks. With Hook's proximity to Sora, Goofy and Donald could not do much without risk of hurting their friend. This was a fact that Hook took full advantage of, crowding as close to Sora as his long sword would allow. Peter swooped in when he thought he saw an opening, but Hook always just deflected the small dagger.

As the fencing battle continued across the deck, with Sora constantly on defensive, he couldn't help but notice that Hook seemed to be directing him towards the plank that stretched out on the left side of the ship. Back and back he went, closer and closer to the long length of wood, until he was forced to step out onto it. Hook continued to push him further and further to end of the plank, forcing Sora to become painfully aware of the lack of places to put his feet. Balance had never been a strong suit of Sora's, and that weakness showed itself fully when Sora placed one foot wrong and tumbled off the plank, toward the dark water below.

Hook laughed and turned away. "Now, for the rest of you! I'm tired of all these-" Hook was interrupted by a well shot spell of Blizzard from Donald. Hook stumbled back and almost fell as well.

"That was for Sora!" Donald yelled.

"Hey, Donald, I'm okay." Sora grinned as he flew into view of his friends. "I can fly here, remember?"

Donald shrugged. "Of course I remembered, I just wanted to hit that palooka of a captain with my magic!"

Hook snarled and moved back to the safety of the deck. "I should've known. Why must you children always pull such trickery?"

Peter laughed, somersaulting in mid-air. "Cause you're an old codger!"

"How dare you!" Hook's face became darker and he charged forward again, brandishing his sword, toward Donald and Goofy. Remembering the Summoning Orb he had found, and how it stopped time for a few moments, Sora grabbed the red sphere and threw it up in the air, unlocking it with the Keyblade.

Just as it had in Agrabah, the orb glowed and time on the ship stopped, Donald and Goofy standing in a defensive posture, and Hook frozen in mid-run. From the orb came a small, red lizard with a thin body. It looked around confusedly.

"Huh? Where am I? Did the ancestors finally give me a quest worth of my kick-butt dragon powers and forget to tell me?" the small being caught sight of Sora. "But why'am I on a boat and who're you, Spiky?"

"Well, I'm Sora." Sora replied. "How about you?"

"Mushu, the mighty dragon!" the lizard replied, breathing out a lick of fire for good measure. "So you answered one of my questions, but why'am my on a boat? Don't see them too often 'round my parts."

"Well," Sora swallowed. He had hated doing this with the lion Simba, and he hated doing it now. "Well, you're home...is gone. It was destroyed by the Heartless."

Mushu froze. "Wh-wha...?"

"The Heartless came to your world and destroyed it. I'm sorry."

"So the ancestors? The Emperor? Mulan? They're all gone? Just like that?"

Sora nodded sympathetically.

"So how do we get it back?" Mushu asked, with faraway look in his eye.

"I'm trying to stop the Heartless and get everyone's world back," Sora replied. "But I could really use your help right now with that guy in the red over there."

"Woah!" Mushu jumped, noticing that time had stopped for the first time. "Why is everybody frozen?"

"It's got something to do with the summoning orb, I think." Sora replied. "So can you help me with Captain Hook?"

"You bet I can!" Mushu stood up straight, losing some of his previous sadness. "I am a mighty dragon after all!"

Mushu reared back and shot off a medium-sized fire ball at Hook. Sora thanked the small lizard, or dragon, as Mushu insisted, and time began to return to the ship.

As time finished reverting itself, Sora heard Mushu talking to himself about 'helping to save the world' and how the 'ancestors would totally give me a cushy position'. Sora wondered if he would ever be able to see Mushu or Simba's worlds. Maybe he, Riku and Kairi could visit every world in the galaxy one day!

When time fully returned, the fireball shot expertly across the deck and crashed into Hook's back, tossing him to the ground.

"What's this?" Hook cried out as the fireball caught onto his elaborate red coat, small flames beginning to leap across it. Seeing this, Hook screamed and stumbled toward the edge of the ship. Moving too far, Hook hit the railing and tumbled over into the water below, screaming all the way. Everyone ran to the railing and peered over the edge. Hook's peacock-plumed hat floated alone in the water, while a light green crocodile swam away from the ship. Sora blinked to remove the image of what had possibly happened from his mind.

Peter shrugged and turned away. "Serves him right. Doncha know that only bad guys like him get eaten by crocs?"

"Gawrsh, I didn't know that." Goofy said. "That's terrible."

Sora turned and slid to the ground against the railing. This pirate ship hadn't been at all like what he had imagined one to be.

* * *

Donald watched as the five of them, Sora, Goofy, Peter, Tinkerbell and himself, flew through the air on the way to what Peter called "The Clock Tower". Donald had been hesitant to leave the Gummi Ship behind on the pirate ship, but with both Sora and Goofy convinced by Peter that something was up at this clock tower, Donald found himself with little choice.

Donald had originally balked at the idea of flying. It was out and out ridiculous. Humans couldn't fly, dogs couldn't fly, even he, as a duck, could not fly. Offhand, he couldn't think of anyone at Disney Castle who could fly, and that was saying something considering the variety of creatures that lived there.

But, low and behold, flying was very possible in this world, Neverland, and Donald couldn't deny that he enjoyed it. Although, of course, he would never let his companions know that.

"So, uh, Kairi couldn't wake up." Goofy spoke louder than he probably thought he was. "So maybe's she's really lost her-"

Donald shushed him, eyes on Sora. The kid didn't need any more negativity. Donald snorted at the fact that Sora, even after everything that had happened on the Pirate Ship, was still completely taken up with flying.

"I still can't believe it! I'm really flying!" Sora laughed uproariously, performing a steep dive. "Wait'll I tell Kairi! I wonder if she'll believe me..." he grinned. "Probably not..."

Peter, caught up in Sora's excitement, glided along with him. "You can bring her to Neverland sometime and then she can try it herself!"

Donald shook his head. Sora had this strange ability to excite everyone around him with his exuberance. Donald sometimes thought of himself as the only immune one, and even then, he knew Sora could reach him sometimes.

Very rare times, of course.

"I just gotta find her again." Sora continued. "There still so much I want to tell her-about flying, the pirates, and everything else that has happened. There's just so much, it'd probably take me forever to tell her everything!"

Sora had a neverending well of joy within in, Donald thought. There had been so many times when Sora would've, should've, been collapsing in a fit of tears, but he wasn't. Sure, Sora could be sad for a little while, but it never seemed to last. The boy always bounced back, ready for whatever came next. Ready to help everyone, the universe if need be, occasionally to Donald's chagrin. Sora always volunteered them to help the first needy thing that came across their path, when they might've done better simply looking for the King, or Riku and Kairi.

But, that was Sora for you, and Donald didn't really want it any other way. The Keyblade really had chosen a good Master. Donald sighed.

Silly, heroic Sora and his silly, heroic ideals.

* * *

Sora started to slow down as soon as an expansive town came into view. He wasn't sure when it had first appeared, but it now sprawled out beneath him like a maze of buildings. Standing tall above the city was large tower, with a clock face on all four sides. Sora guessed this was "the Clock Tower" that Peter had mentioned.

From a distance Sora saw the girl Peter had rescued, Wendy, standing on the walkway that ran around the top of the clock, fenced in by a railing. Beside her stood two boys whom Sora didn't recognize. Peter quickly flew ahead of Sora, toward the three people on the clock. Sora watched from a distance with Donald and Goofy, as the Keyblade came to his hand. A Keyhole, overlaying the clock face before him, showed itself and, just as Sora had done numerous times before, he pointed the Keyblade at the hole and sealed it.

Sora felt a little dip in his flying. Guessing that the pixie dust was wearing off, Sora, Donald and Goofy landed beside one of the spires on top of the Clock Tower.

"Well guys, what do you think is next?" Sora asked, looking out over the night sky of the town, houses lit up in yellow.

"I guess we're heading to that Hollow Bastion place, huh?" Goofy replied.

"Guess so," Sora said thoughtfully. "That's where Riku and Kairi are."

"And Maleficent!" Donald added.

Sora had almost forgotten about her. "Guess we'll have to stop her and the Heartless too."

Goofy looked hopefully at Donald. "And maybe the King's there!"

Donald snorted. "I doubt it. It'd be too convenient."

"Maybe." Sora said. "But convenient doesn't mean impossible."

"Too convenient." Donald repeated with a shrug.

Sora smiled. Good old Donald.

But he couldn't help but think that whatever awaited them at Hollow Bastion would show them the end of their adventure.

* * *

Riku stood in the Grand Hall of Hollow Bastion, where Maleficent had gathered all the Princesses in their glass coffins. He had disliked the idea of placing Kairi in a coffin. She wasn't dead, he would find a way to save her, but Maleficent had insisted.

He had dressed her in one of the formal dresses that Maleficent had set aside for the Princesses, careful to avert his eyes when it was needed, and placed her gingerly in this glass case himself. And now, here he was, watching her.

After seeing Sora in Hook's cabin, Riku had impulsively used a Portal of Darkness to take him and Kairi back to Hollow Bastion. A risky move, and one that Maleficent had chastised him for, but it had only shown he and Maleficent his own power. She had reminded him that relying too much on the darkness could open his heart to be taken by the Heartless. He had scoffed. She obviously didn't know him too well. His heart was strong, he controlled the Heartless, not the other way around.

Riku brushed a stray hair from Kairi's soft, pale face. For the first time he noticed a small cut above Kairi's left eye that slowly oozed blood. He pulled off one of his gloves and wiped it across her forehead, succeeding in only smearing the sticky, red substance. Riku sighed and smiled good-naturedly.

"Oh Kairi, come on, don't make me go get the towels."

Kairi replied with nothing, the emptiness of the Grand Hall seeming to echo the lack thereof. Only the hum of the Keyhole behind him created sound. The vast emptiness bothered him, a part of him wishing for Sora and Kairi's laughing voices.

Riku cleared his head, closed the glass case and went off in search of the supplies he needed.

While searching for the items in question, Riku came across a simple, wooden sword laying in his room. For the life of him, he couldn't remember how it got there. Had he brought it with him from the Islands? He didn't think so. Keeping getting back to Kairi in the forefront of his mind, Riku picked up the wooden sword, running his fingers over it. From what he was told, Sora was headed to Hollow Bastion right now. Showdown between the two of them was inevitable. They were going to meet and, like the so many times they had with these swords, clash.

What was there current score again? It was a tie at forty-two, if he remembered correctly.

How strangely coincidental that their upcoming battle would not only decide the wielder of the Keyblade, for Riku thought he could take it from Sora and use it to find Kairi's heart, but also who would win their tie. Odd how the universe worked those things out.

Suddenly, Riku heard a beastly roar, one that seemed to cause even the Castle to shake. A roar of desperation, of dedication. Not that it mattered to him, Maleficent would probably find him soon enough to inform him of it's cause, but Kairi was what mattered right now.

Riku, taking the wooden sword with him, grabbed the towels and made his way back to the Grand Hall at a run.

* * *

"Mommy! Mommy!"

Claire leaned far out her window, mystified.

"Mooommmyy!"

"What is it, Claire?" Her mother replied, pushing the door open slowly.

"There were people flying, Mommy! And one of them shot a light at Big Ben!" Claire pointed excitedly out the window at the Clock Tower.

Her mother smiled gently. "Flying, you say?"

Claire nodded, large eyes wide in wonder.

"Well, that means they must've had a little pinch of pixie dust!"

"Pixie dust, Mommy?"

"Pixie dust." Her mother pinched the bridge of Claire's nose, causing the little girl to giggle.

"What's pixie dust made of, Mommy?" Claire asked, laying back in bed.

"It's made of hopes, dreams and wishes. Wishes are the most important, though." her mother replied, tucking her in tightly.

"They are?"

"Yes, because with a wish, you're telling everyone that you want something really bad. But you know what, Claire?"

"What, Mommy?"

"Even when you want something so terribly that you wish for it, you still have to try hard to get it. Wishes don't fulfill themselves, you know. You have to try."

Claire yawned and turned over in bed. "Do wishes ever come true, Mommy?"

"Yes, love, they do."

* * *

_**The Report of Ansem: Studies into the Heart**_

_**Part Nine**_

_Simply astonishing! Today we had a guest from another world. He is a King, and his vessel is built of the material that composed the meteors. He called the pieces "Gummi Blocks" It seems that my opening that door has opened a path to interworld travel._

_They talked for countless hours, but one story in particular caught my interest: That of a key called the Keyblade. The Keyblade is said to hold phenomenal power. One legend says its wielder saved the world, while another says that he wrought chaos and ruin upon it. I must know more of these Legends the diminutive King speaks of._

_It all must be connected to the Door that I have opened._

_~**Ansem**_

* * *

_Lots of different PoVs in this chapter. I dearly hope you enjoyed it. _

_Please review! I'd love to hear what you have to say!_

_Next two chapters are gonna be the best ever, just FYI.  
__~Mars_

_PS. So guys, I just watched the best anime ever.  
__Let me say it again.  
__Best. Anime. Ever.  
__It's name? Baccano! It's plot? Too convoluted to simply tell.  
__What I'm saying is that you should watch it. Nao!_

_In addition to that, I can also recommend Kanon (2006), a beautiful little show that really reminded me of my perfect world: Where romance is innocent, not marred by perversity, where magic, mystery and miracles still exist and still do unexplainable wonders, where happy endings always happen beautifully, and time never stops._

_Check both of 'em out._


	17. Where the Princess Sleeps

_Own Kingdom Hearts, I do not._

* * *

_**Chapter XVII: Where the Princess Sleeps  
**__Came the last night of sadness,  
__And it was clear she couldn't go on,  
__the door was open and the wind appeared  
__the candles blew and then disappeared  
__the curtains flew and then he appeared  
__(Saying: "Don't be afraid")  
__Come on, baby,  
__(And she had no fear)  
__She ran to him  
__(and they started to fly)  
__They looked backward and said goodbye  
__(She had become like they are)  
__She had taken his hand  
__(She had become like they are)  
__Come on baby  
__(Don't fear the Reaper)  
__~(Don't Fear) The Reaper by the the Blue Oyster Cult_

Sora reclined on the couch in the Gummi Ship's cockpit. He lay relaxed, eyes closed, one hand behind his head, the other playing absent-mindedly with his crown necklace. After leaving the pirate ship, the group had limped back to Traverse Town to have the Gummi Ship repaired and upgraded. Now they were smoothly on their way to Hollow Bastion, Maleficent's capital, and hopefully where Riku and Kairi were. At the moment, Donald and Goofy were off doing who-knows-what somewhere in the ship, leaving Sora alone to enjoy one of his favorite activities:

Being lazy.

Although, it was always his well-favored excuse that his laziness was accompanied by heavy thinking, even though most of the time it was about nothing more than grand, imaginary adventures and whether Kairi was going to scold him for getting a 'C' again in Algebra. Sora never really minded her scoldings though, as they were always companions to a gentle offer to help him study for next time.

It was strange, Sora thought, that today was September 1st. School would've started today on the Islands, and he was torn between a desire to have school back, if only because that would mean the Islands still existed, and the satisfaction that he finally had a legitimate excuse for missing school. Finally, and easily, deciding that he would rather have the Islands and school, then no Islands and no school, Sora yawned and shifted in position as the Gummi Ship let out a small ding, signifying that they had arrived at Hollow Bastion.

"Donald! Goofy!" Sora yelled. "We're here and-"

Sora took a sharp breath as he looked out the viewport.

"Woah..."

* * *

Riku held his sword, the Soul Eater, at an easy ready as he studied the brute in front of him. At Maleficent's request, he had left Kairi, much to his annoyance, and come down to the dead garden that decorated the entrance to the Castle. There, he had found this...Beast. It was a tall, strong-looking being, completely covered in thick, coarse hair. Two sharp horns sprouted from its head, and its hands and feet ended in sharp claws. A purple cloak and blue pants were its only covering.

"No vessel, no help from the darkness..." Riku observed. "So tell me, how did you get here?"

"I simply believed. Nothing more to it." it growled. "When our world fell into darkness, Belle was taken from me. I vowed I would find her again no matter what the cost. I believed I would find her." the Beast's hard, dark eyes fell on Riku. "So here I am. She must be here, and I will have her back!"

Riku was surprised at the being's dedication. Belle had been one of the Princesses of Heart Maleficent had captured, and this Beast was apparently a friend of hers. Riku could only note the similarities between them: Losing their worlds and their friends, and vowing to find them again. Believing and being brought to them. Both here, in this mysterious castle.

It was a shame that the Beast wished to ruin Maleficent's plan. Riku wouldn't have cared otherwise, but he might still need Maleficent to help Kairi.

He did have to respect its dedication to Belle, though.

"Take her if you can!" Riku gave a smug grin and took his battle stance.

The Beast shook and, with another mighty roar, charged Riku.

* * *

Sora stood in complete awe of the largest castle he had ever seen in his life. With spiraling towers, it stretched high up into the sky, with the topmost parts even hidden by the clouds. From what he could see, the Castle had seen some battles in it's day or something, because large parts of it seemed to be missing or destroyed. A spire missing here, a roof collapsed there, none of it, though, taking away from it's sheer majesty.

So this was Hollow Bastion. As Sora noticed, it was the exact same Castle as was shown in one of Jane's slides back on Deep Jungle. How a picture of this castle got to that world, Sora had no idea, but it was certainly the same building.

Sora himself stood on a wide pathway that split a large pool of ankle-deep water in half. Two other roads split off on either side, further dividing the pool into fourths, fog obscuring where they led. Straight ahead, Sora could just make out the shape of a large, black gate and metal fencing.

"Woo-hee! makes me think of Disney Castle!" Goofy announced, staring transfixed at the Castle.

Donald broke his gaze away from the amazing sight and shrugged. "Eh, Disney's got it beat."

Sora could only wonder at how marvelous Disney Castle must be to beat out Hollow Bastion, even with the latter partially destroyed.

Again, just as in Deep Jungle, Sora felt a deep-abiding sense of deja vu in his chest, like he knew this place

"What is this weird feeling..?" he wondered

"Aw, you're probably just hungry." Donald clapped him on the back.

Sora coughed. "I'm serious!" he said, pushing Donald away.

Suddenly, a ground-shaking roar broke the eery quiet of the world, shattering the feelings of a quiet respect for whatever had damaged this world.

With a quick look at his friends, Sora ran forward to discover the roar's source, Donald and Goofy quickly behind. He reached the black gate and pushed the entrance open, revealing a stone pathway that led through a dead garden. Skeleton trees stood off at a distance, with black dirt as the only ground covering. Dead vines dripped off the Castle walls like cobwebs, dry and sick. This whole world seemed to be dead or dying, broken or collapsing, Sora thought. A world that lost it's life a long time ago.

In fact, the only things Sora saw alive were the two beings that were in front him.

One, a large, hairy beast with horns and a purple cape, sat hunched over in the middle of the path, arms supporting it's heaving body. A little ways beyond it, stood a boy with silver hair, holding a long sword still dripping with blood. Riku.

"Riku! What's going on?" Sora asked, running up to the Beast in the road, who had obviously been fighting Riku. He placed a hand on the hairy creature, but it roared and pushed him away, staring him down with eyes of savagery. It shifted away from him, but continued to only be able to lean on the ground.

"Hey, I want to help you!" Sora told the creature. It didn't reply, opting instead to simply ignore Sora.

"It's only a monster, Sora. It doesn't need your help. It can't even help itself." Riku shook his head, as if ashamed of the beast. "Anyway, it's about time you made it here, Sora. I've been waiting for you."

"Riku! Why are you doing all this?" Sora yelled, feeling his patience breaking.

"We've always been rivals, haven't we?" Riku spoke. "You've always pushed me, as I've always pushed you."

"Riku..." Sora whispered.

"But..." Riku hooked his sword onto his belt, not bothering to clean the blood off it. "It all ends here. There can't be two Keyblade Masters."

"What are talking about?" Sora asked, confused.

"Let the Keyblade choose...it's true master!" Riku held out a single hand, as if inviting Sora to join him. Sora couldn't help but think he had seen Riku do that before. Had it been in a dream?

Without warning, Sora felt something leave him, and the loss took his legs right out from under him, collapsing him to his knees. The Keyblade, reverted to it's simple silver and gold form, appeared in Riku's hand, to the sound of Donald and Goofy's gasps.

Riku chuckled. "Well, I guess Maleficent was right. You don't have what it takes to save Kairi. It's up to me." Riku tested the Keyblade's weight in his hand."Only the Keyblade Master can open the Secret Door and...change the world." Riku finished with a amused grin.

"But...but..." Sora felt like his whole world had shifted under him. "How? This is impossible...I'm the one the Keyblade chose! I fought my way here with it!"

"You were just the delivery boy." Riku replied. "Your part's over now. You can go play hero with this." Riku tossed one of the wooden swords from the Islands to him. It clattered along the ground, and came to a stop in front of Sora. His mind a confused blank, Sora fell forward until his body came to rest on the damp, stone pathway of Hollow Bastion.

"Goodbye, Sora. I'm sorry all this happened to you." Riku spoke softly, a hint of pity in his voice, before he heard his 'friend' turn and walk away, leaving the Garden silent.

"Goofy...let's go..." Donald said slowly and sadly. "We...have to remember our...our mission..."

No. Not them too. Why were they leaving?

"Oh, well I know the King told us to follow the Keyblade and all...but..." Sora imagined Goofy looking pitifully at him. Sora wanted to speak up. To beg them not to leave. But he couldn't. No words could break through his lips.

"Sora...sorry." Donald said as his footsteps, along with Goofy's, disappeared after Riku's

Gone. They were gone. Riku was gone. Donald was gone. Goofy was gone. He hadn't saved Kairi and those he considered his friends had left him. He was all alone. Alone at the beginning of his adventure, and here, at the end, he was alone again. His world was gone, as were all his friends. In the deepest parts of his mind, he got why Riku had left him, he at least understood that, but Donald and Goofy, too? Why had they left? They were all friends! They had been through so much, why would they abandon him now...?

Sora had no idea how long he layed on the cold stone of Hollow Bastion, hot tears leaking down his cheeks to meet with the pathway. He had no idea how to continue. Nothing made sense anymore. Everything turned on it's head. Riku had won, and left to help Kairi in his own way. Had Riku been right all along? Had Sora been wrong to oppose him? Had he only succeeded in slowing Kairi's recovery?

Without looking up, Sora heard the loud footsteps of the only other being in the dead garden. The Beast. Why was it still going on? What did it want with the Castle? With Riku?

Slowly, Sora lifted his head and watched the Beast limp past him, slowly making it's way to the large doors of the Castle. It walked heavily, favoring it's right leg, and clutched it's chest with a blood-stained paw.

Why was the Beast moving on? What made it so determined to keep going? Sora wanted to know why it hadn't given up to lay on the cold stone as he had. Pushing himself to his feet, Sora walked slowly behind the Beast, catching up to it just in time to support it as it collapsed forward.

"Hey..." Sora said softly. "Don't move. You're hurt."

This time, the Beast didn't respond with a roar, but looked up at Sora curiously. "Why...why did yo come here? I came to fight...for Belle." it, or he, Sora thought, pushed himself to his feet. "And though I am on my own, I will still fight. I won't leave without her." the Beast took an unsteady step forward. "That's why I'm here."

Sora paused as the Beast pushed on ahead. He, the Beast, was here to find someone too. That's why he hadn't given up. He hadn't given up because what he was searching for had not yet been found. That's what kept the Beast going when he should've stayed down.

Just because Sora had lost the Keyblade didn't change the fact that he still had to find Kairi.

Sora glanced back at the wooden sword, and back toward the Beast. He took a breath and scooped the sword up, running to stand beside the Beast. With a quick gesture, Sora cast a Cure spell on him. The Beast gave Sora a look of questioning..

"Me too. I'm not going to just give up now. I came here to find someone very important to me."

What Sora thought might've passed for a smile on the Beast greeted the return of Sora's spirit.

Suddenly, a large group of Heartless sprang up from the ground in front of the two. There were new types here on this world, huge ones the size of the Beast with giant shields and swords.

Sora set his jaw, determined, and took a battle stance with the wooden sword. "I've lost the Keyblade, so I might need your help." he said to the Beast. He nodded in return.

"You know," Sora said, eyes on the Heartless. "We don't even each other's names."

The hairy creature grunted. "You may call me Beast."

Sora snorted. That was simple. "And I'm Sora."

"Well then, Sora, shall we find what we are looking for?"

Sora smiled. "I think it's about time, yeah."

"_Don't ever give up, Sora. I'm with you."_

* * *

Dare she say it...Maleficent was almost excited.

Her plan was coming to fruition, the endgame in sight. The Final Keyhole was almost complete. This world had always been special, the epicenter of the entire universe. This world was where choices had been made that affected the entire galaxy. Unsealing it's Keyhole, and keeping it unlocked, would result in the outpouring of ultimate darkness, which she would control.

Maleficent had saved this world all those years ago from being fully taken Heartless, and ever since then she had been filling the World's Heart with her darkness. Now, completing the Keyhole would allow that darkness to escape, with tenfold the power it had before. The Heartless number would grow exponentially, and they would all bow to her power. The terrible, faceless hordes of Heartless were hers to command.

Almost excited. An exotic feeling, knowing that her plans would finally reach their climax today. It was rare for her to feel excitement. A welcome change of pace in her world of even temperament.

Maleficent felt a smile tug at her lips, letting it pass as she glanced over the Seven Princesses, all in their glass caskets, ordered neatly in the Grand Hall of Hollow Bastion. She took one glance at the large, mechanical Keyhole, powered by an army of tubes, pipes and all manner of machinery, and lifted her hands.

"O' Purest of Hearts! Reveal to me the Keyhole!"

Six strobes of light burst from the chests of each of the Princesses, frozen in the coffins along the wall. The lights came together as one and shot, straight and true, directly into the Keyhole. Maleficent waited. Nothing happened. It was then she noticed that there was only six beams of light, and no seventh. Which Princesses' heart wasn't responding?

Oh, Maleficent noted, of course, it was that friend of Riku's and the Keyblade Master.

Kairi, was it?

* * *

Entering Hollow Bastion with Beast, Sora was immediately struck that the inside of the Castle was just as grand as the outside. Through the Castle's large wooden doors was an Entrance Hall, round and tall. Two grand staircases wound at a gradual curve, around a fountain, to a balcony that ran across the far half of the room. Many different doors stood on the balcony, leading off to different areas of the Castle.

"Be on your guard." Beast growled. "They're close."

Sora nodded, out of breath. Without the Keyblade, fighting and spellcasting had taken on a whole new level of difficulty. Suddenly, the door behind them shook, as if it was being beaten down.

"More Heartless?" Sora groaned.

Beast took one look at Sora's condition and charged toward the door himself. "You continue on, I'll hold back these monsters."

Before Sora could say anything, Beast had given a mighty roar and disappeared to the outside. The attacks on the door stopped, so Sora could only assume that Beast was fighting them off.

"Oh come _on, _Sora! Are you really going to follow me like a lost puppy?" Sora turned quickly to see that Riku had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, standing at the apex of the stairs, atop the fountain. Donald and Goofy stood behind him, looking uncomfortable. "Have some dignity! Why don't you just quit already?"

Sora held his little wooden sword at a ready against Riku's darkness. "Not without Kairi."

Riku looked shocked. "It's okay, Sora. I have the Keyblade. I'll take care of Kairi. You can just leave. Please." his eyes begged Sora. "I don't want to fight you. I just want to help Kairi, something you can't do. You don't have the Keyblade, remember? The darkness will destroy you."

Sora stood struck before Riku. It genuinely seemed that Riku wanted to help Kairi. But then why had he done all the terrible things he did?

"Even if the darkness destroys my body." Sora replied. "It can't touch my heart. My heart will stay with my friends!"

Riku's face fell. "So you still want to fight me? Well then, we'll just see if your heart will stay with your friends!"

Riku pulled both hands back, preparing a ball of dark energy in his palms. Sora swallowed, closed his eyes, and braced himself against the attack. He hear the 'whoosh' as it left Riku's hand, but instead of feeling it hit him, Sora was surprised to hear the blast of it against an obstacle. Sora opened his eyes to see Goofy standing in front of him, blocking Riku's attack with his shield.

"Sora ain't gonna go anywhere!" the dog captain said with a glint in his eye.

"You'd betray your king?" Riku asked curiously.

"Not on your life!" Goofy took a peek back at Sora, giving him a thumbs-up. "But I'm not gonna betray Sora either, 'cause he's become one of my best buddies after all we've been through together." Goofy waved to Donald. "See ya later, Donald! Could ya tell the King I'm really sorry?"

Donald sighed and walked over to stand beside Goofy and Sora. "We'll tell him together."

Sora felt a tear in his eye. They hadn't abandoned him. They had come back. Even Donald.

Seeing his friend's reaction, Donald scuffed his feet. "Well, you know...all for one and one for all..."

"I guess you're stuck with us, Sora." Goofy grinned.

"Thanks, guys." Sora replied.

Riku shrugged. Losing Donald and Goofy wasn't a big deal to him, apparently. A mistake on Riku's part, Sora thought. He didn't know what he was missing.

"So how will you fight without a weapon?" Riku asked, bringing the Keyblade to his hand.

Sora took his place between Donald and Goofy, wooden sword still in hand. "I know now that I don't need the Keyblade. I've got a better weapon: My Heart."

Riku snorted, then chuckled, and then released a full-out laugh. "Your heart? What good will your weak heart do you, Sora?"

"Even though my heart may be weak, it's not alone. It's grown with each new experience and it's found a home with all the friends I've made. We've all become a part of each others' hearts." Sora said. "And so our Hearts have become even more powerful!"

Riku made a gagging motion at Sora's speech, but it was at that moment, when Sora finished speaking, that the Keyblade disappeared from Riku's hand in a flash of light and reappeared in Sora's. Riku's eyes widened in surprise, his jaw falling open.

"What? How did you-?"

"I told you, Riku. Because my friends helped my heart grow."

Riku quaked, his body shaking from head to toe. He threw his arms up above him and an army of Heartless leapt from the floor. Riku pulled out his original sword, which had stayed hooked on his belt, and took his ready stance.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to defeat you and take the Keyblade back."

"You take care of Riku, Sora!" Goofy said. "Me 'n Donald'll take care of the Heartless!"

Sora nodded and looked back just in time to see Riku jump from the balcony and sail through the air, sword held high. Sora threw up the Keyblade to block the powerful strike, and countered it with a quick slash at the side. Riku blocked it and went in for a stab. Sora dodged to the side, and swung his foot at Riku's legs, hoping to sweep them out. Riku jumped over the kick easily and brought his sword down again, forcing Sora to block on one knee. Sora slid an elbow up, knocking Riku in the jaw, sending him stumbling back. Riku wiped a glove across his face, clearing it of the small amount of blood that had dribbled from his mouth.

"You've gotten better, Sora. Since the Islands. Was it your heart that did it?" he asked sarcastically.

"Actually," Sora stood to his feet and charged. "It probably was. I've been through a lot, Riku."

Riku blocked Sora's charge, deflecting it to the side. Sora came back for another strike, which Riku again blocked effortlessly. Sora shifted for another attack, and another, all blocked by Riku's expert swordsmanship, and his knowledge of how Sora fought from years of practice together on the Islands.

With another lightning attack, Sora snaked his right leg behind Riku and tripped him over it. As Riku smashed into the floor, Sora brought the Keyblade up high, bringing it down with all the strength he could muster. Riku, laying on his back, blocked the attack, straining against Sora.

"What do you think you're doing Riku? Why do you hate me so much?" Sora asked desperately, pushing down against Riku.

"Why?" Riku replied, eyes seeming to overflow with darkness. "Why? Because you're so perfect, Sora! Because you always thought with your heart! You always did the most stupid, boneheaded things and still ended out on top! And here you are, at Hollow Bastion itself, still following your damn, stupid heart!"

Riku brought a foot up underneath Sora and kicked him back across the slick floor, knocking the wind out the Keyblade Master. Riku stood to his feet and walked after Sora slowly.

"And because Kairi..." he paused and let out a struggled breath. "Because Kairi loved you for that. But, you'll see, I'll find her heart and rescue her. I'll show her who really deserves to be loved!"

Sora pushed himself to his elbows. Kairi loved him? What was Riku talking about?

"Riku! She wouldn't want this! Everything you've done!"

"Don't you dare make this about me, Sora!" Riku growled. "_I'm _the one who found her! _I'm _the one who's going to get her heart back!"

Sora stood to his feet. Riku's slow walk became a jog, which quickly evolved into an all out, maniacal run, sword held high.

Sora placed his hand on the blade of the Keyblade and concentrated, attempting to center all his energy. As Riku got closer, Sora's eyes snapped open and he unleashed a wave of attacks with the Keyblade, sending Riku on a defensive that barely kept up with the offense. The Keyblade glowed with a bright light as Sora's strikes sped up. One from the top, then the bottom, then the side, then the bottom again, all driving Riku back. The final strike was a great slash with the Keyblade's blunt end across Riku's torso, and as it turned out, the only one that Riku failed to block. Filled with so much power, the attack sent Riku careening back through the air. His legs caught on the top part of the fountain, sending his body into a tumble that ended with a crash against one of the doors of the balcony.

Sora watched silently as Riku painfully pulled himself to his feet, face bloodied and clothes stained in sweat. Their eyes met for the briefest moment, ocean blue versus mint,(a much darker mint than Sora remembered, though)and in that moment, wordless meanings were conveyed. Sora knew then that, as much as he hated the thought, Riku was now his enemy. Someone he had to stop like the numerous villains on numerous worlds. Whatever Riku had in mind, it seemed to go beyond helping Kairi. It delved into dark places of jealousy and rage, something that Sora never thought the old Riku capable of.

Sora watched as Riku broke their gaze, turning to run through one of the doors, not bothering to close it behind him. Sora watched the door, swinging back and forth on creaking hinges, through watery eyes.

A thought came to him amidst the tears. Sora was winning now. Forty-Three to Forty-Two.

Not that it mattered anymore.

* * *

Riku stumbled his way through the Castle library, biting back the pain. He tripped and fell into one of the bookshelves, sending numerous books spilling to the floor. He cried out as a cut on his torso split, bloodying the dark covers of the books. Using the shelf as support, Riku pushed himself forward to the stairs.

The darkness had overcome him. He had felt it nip at the edges of his being when he first saw Sora in Hollow Bastion, but then he took the Keyblade and it went away. But when Sora...took it back and they fought, the darkness had asked to be invited in and Riku had let it. He had lost control. He had lost the Keyblade. It had been his, and then he lost it. Sora and his stupid heart had taken it back.

Where was Kairi? He needed to find Kairi!

Using the railing more than the stairs themselves, Riku eased himself to the top, pain in every pull. Just before reaching the top step, a deep voice spoke.

"This world...has been dead a very long time, hasn't it?"

Riku craned his neck upward to see a man in a long brown coat, completing enshrouding his being. Riku had no guess as to who this man was.

"What-? W-w-who are you?"

"Know this..." The deep voice declared. "The Heart that it strong and true shall win the Keyblade."

Riku felt a rage well within him. "What? You're saying my heart's is weaker than his?" Riku had no idea who this stranger was, but he certainly wouldn't take insults from him.

The man continued unhurried, as if Riku wasn't bleeding out in front of him. "For that instant, it was."

Riku let go of the railing and sat back against it, taking a labored breath.

"However...you can become stronger." the voice spoke softly. Seductively. "You showed no fear in the darkness. It held no terror for you. Plunge deeper into it, and your heart will grow even stronger."

Riku licked his lips and closed his eyes, leaning his head tiredly against the wooden rail. "What should I do?"

"It's really quite simple: Open yourself to the darkness. That is all. Let your heart, your being, become darkness itself."

Riku gave a tired nod. Anything to feel that power again. The power Maleficent had shown him.

Riku opened his eyes to see the stranger's arm outstretched toward him, a bony hand reaching out toward his forehead. Before Riku could react, the stranger grabbed Riku's skull with his cold, dead hand.

Riku screamed in pain, feeling as if his heart was being torn from his chest, and all went black.

* * *

Along with Riku, Sora noticed that the Beast was still gone, and the Castle doors hadn't budged since he had gone out to fight the Heartless alone. Sora would've gone to look for his new friend, but he had to find Kairi first. He made a quick promise to himself to not leave Hollow Bastion until he was sure the Beast okay.

It was then that a scream echoed through hall, coming from the open door that Riku had exited through. It was a scream of agonized pain, as if one's body was being ripped apart, piece by piece. Was that Riku? What could possibly make Riku scream like that? Nothing that Sora knew of. He ran up the stairs and through the door to the library. Even though Riku was his enemy now, Sora still felt a need to help him, for old time's sake. Maybe he could show Riku the light.

The library was a maze of books and shelves, reaching to the ceiling. If it wasn't for the occasional blood spatter or pile of overturned books, Sora would've had no idea where to go. Following the makeshift path, Sora found that it ended at another staircase, leading to a higher level of the library.

Still no Riku to be found.

He had taken the first step up when a wave of dizziness hit him and he tumbled back, but he didn't feel his body hit the floor. Instead, he found himself floating high above the library, looking down at an elderly woman sitting in a chair, an old, but regal air about her. She hadn't been there a moment ago, and it seemed that she couldn't see Sora. What was going on?

It also struck Sora that the library felt different. Light floated lazily through the tall windows that ran along the stairs. In the distance, he thought he heard sound of people laughing. The Castle felt alive.

The old woman's eyes lit up at the approach of little girl in a simple, white sundress. She had short, dark red hair and skipped with a spring in her step.

"Do you want to hear a story, little one?" the woman asked, picking the girl up and placing her in her lap. The girl giggled and nodded.

"Well then, a long time ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then, people began to fight over it." the woman frowned. "They wanted to keep it for themselves, and darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything and the world disappeared." the little girl gasped, but the old woman simply smiled. "But small fragments of light survived in the hearts of children." she tweaked the girl on the nose. "With those fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world, and that is the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open and the true light will return." the woman patted the girl on the head. "So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you."

"Even in my room at night?" the girl spoke with wide eyes.

The woman laughed. "Even in your room at night, little one. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with it's power and push the darkness away. Do you understand, Kairi?"

Sora's eyes widened. Kairi? That was Kairi before she came to Islands? Had she lived here in Hollow Bastion at some point? Was this her home?

Sora tried to move forward to reach child-Kairi, but the world faded around him and he found himself lying in a pile of books, back with Donald and Goofy.

"Gawrsh, what happened, Sora?" Goofy asked.

"I dunno, Goofy..." Sora rubbed his head. "I felt really dizzy and then I think...I think I time traveled!"

Donald laughed "Time travel? Sora, you're crazy. You can't time travel!"

"Maybe you're right...but then what did I see?"

" 'Dunno" Donald replied. "But back here in the present me and Goofy found another page to Merlin's book." Donald held up a slightly blood-stained page. "You should hold onto it, Sora."

Sora took it and placed it in his pocket. Rising to his feet with help from his two friends, Sora moved onwards up the stairs and through the second floor of the library. The second floor was significantly less confusing than the first floor, which Sora was thankful for, since Riku's trail of blood and mess had vanished.

Through the library, Sora, Donald and Goofy traveled through many different rooms in the Castle and saw many different things. In one place, they found what looked like an entire room missing, as if it had been removed from the Castle entirely. Nothing remained but scorched walls and a missing floor, which disappeared into darkness far before any of them could see the bottom. They found old, beautiful dining rooms and rusted kitchens. Large, open ballrooms and all manner of assorted bedrooms.

They followed a path that Sora chose, and when questioned about it by Donald, Sora had no answer as to how he knew the way to go. He just...followed his heart.

"It just feels like something's tugging on me to go this way." Sora had said

Donald had shrugged. "Whatever. It's not we have any better ideas on how to keep going."

A few times, they had exited to large balconies that were built into the walls of the Castle, each time surprising Sora at how high they were. In the fog far below, Sora could just make out what he thought might be the ruins of a town built around Hollow Bastion. He only could wonder what the history of this place was, and how it had come to be so dead.

"_I believe in you."_

* * *

Maleficent stood before the giant Keyhole, watching the energy about it fluctuate and burst. Waves of power rippled across the surface of the Keyhole, giving the feeling that it could explode at any moment. Maleficent sensed Riku arriving behind her, and she turned in surprise to see that he had changed. No longer was he wearing the clothes she had found him in, now instead wearing a long, black coat with black jeans and a black dress shirt. Maleficent briefly wondered where he had found those new clothes, before turning back to the Keyhole.

"So...I see the path has emerged at last." Riku spoke, walking up beside her. Maleficent again noted the odd fact that Riku's voice seemed to be overlayed with another, deeper voice. Like two similar, but not exact, songs being played at once. How odd.

"Yes...The Keyhole to the darkness." Maleficent replied, not bothering to ask Riku about any of his changes. It hardly mattered much.

"Complete it, and the Heartless will overrun this world." Riku spoke with a hint of caution, challenging Maleficent to know what to do next. How trite, thinking she didn't have a plan.

"What do I care? The darkness holds no power over me. Rather, I will use it's power to rule all worlds."

Riku sniggered. "Such confidence." and reached out a hand. In it, appeared a black Keyblade with a sharp, pointed end.

"Ooh..." Maleficent cooed. Not an expression over cuteness, but a smug, interested noise of pride.

Riku pointed the dark Keyblade at the Keyhole, but nothing happened. Maleficent frowned.

"Impossible! The Princesses of Heart are all here." her gaze shifted to Kairi's glass coffin. "It must be her. Without her heart, she will be never be able to release her power..."

With a resounding crash, the doors to the Castle Chapel slammed open, echoing all the way to the Grand Hall."Maleficent!" The Keyblade Master yelled angrily.

Maleficent sighed. "The King's fools are here...I'll deal with them myself. You stay here and guard the Princesses."

Riku smiled and nodded, something about his smile unnerving Maleficent. Maybe it was the slyness of it. Or did it actually seem like the boy was giddy? Joyful?

Feeling unnerved, for once in her long life, Maleficent quickly left Riku.

Something had indeed changed about him. Something was no longer correct. When had she last seen him smile?

Never. He had never smiled, at least not honestly, and at least about nothing other than the girl.

Maleficent looked back as she trailed down the long stairs. Riku had turned to gaze at the Keyhole, almost lovingly. No longer did he seem concerned with the girl in the glass coffin beside him.

Disturbed by the boy, and surprised she was unsettled at all, Maleficent went out to finally meet the Keyblade Master in the Castle Chapel.

* * *

Sora pulled to a stop in the middle of a stone hall, before two great closing doors, Donald and Goofy slowing down beside him. In front of the closing doors stood a tall woman in long, black robes. Her skin was pale green in pallor, with two thick, black horns sprouting from the woman's head. She smiled a thin smile beneath small eyes. Sora could've sworn that room dropped in temperature. This was Maleficent.

"I'm afraid you're too late. Any moment now, the Final Keyhole will be unsealed. The worlds will be plunged into the darkness that shall pour forth. It is unstoppable."

Sora felt a prickle in his stomach, facing this evil woman who seemed to ooze malignancy.

He swallowed and summoned up his courage. "We'll stop it!" his voice broke at the end from the fear. He steeled himself and continued. "After coming this far, there's no way we're gonna let that happen!"

Maleficent smiled like she was watching some naïve new recruit, nearly a look of pity. "You poor, simple fools. Do you really think you can defeat me? Me, the Mistress of all Evil!"

Maleficent raised her arms and the ground beneath her cracked, forming a large rock platform that ripped itself from the ground and floated high into the air, carrying the witch out of reach. She cackled and waved her staff, causing multiple large Heartless to spring from the floor. They each carried a large sword and shield, and stood at least twice the size of Sora.

"Well this don't look good!" Goofy muttered.

"Nothing we can't handle!" Donald replied and shot a Fire spell at one of the Knight Heartless.

Sora summoned the Keyblade. "We gotta take care of Maleficent, so let's get this done fast."

The foremost of the Heartless charged at Sora, sword upraised. Sora dove forward, dodging it's sword and rolling under it's shield. Close to it's body, he swung the Keyblade across it's torso and opened up a black gash across it's body, which began to leak black smoke. Surprised that he hadn't killed it, Sora didn't move quickly enough, allowing the Heartless to smack Sora with it's large shield, sending the boy flying into the rock wall. Maleficent laughed.

"Shut up you old hag!" Sora coughed as his wind returned to him, and he ducked just in time for the Heartless to stab deeply into the wall where he had just been. Sora stepped to the side and brought the Keyblade down heavily on the Heartless' wrist, disconnecting it from it's sword and hand. The creature screamed in pain, and lashed out blindly at Sora with it's shield. Sora easily dodged it's wild attacks and, spying another Heartless Knight coming in for attack, stayed near the wounded one. The second Heartless, run by instinct and not caring for it's wounded fellow, brought a mighty blow down towards Sora, who at the last minute jumped out of the way. The second Heartless cleaved the first down the middle. While it was distracted, Sora took some well-aimed hits on the second Heartless, collapsing it into a pile of dissipating darkness.

"Oh, Keyblade Master...most impressive." Maleficent spoke as she waved her staff in slow, small circles. The ceiling of the Castle Chapel disappeared behind a multicolored portal that covered it's entirety.

"Meteors of heaven! Release thine fury!" Maleficent drew her staff down quickly towards the floor. Several massive meteors rocketed out from the portal. Sora ran to Donald and Goofy, sliding next to them just in time to call up a Relfect spell over all three of them. The meteors crashed into the magical shield, cracking it, but not breaking it. The rest of the Castle Chapel was not so lucky. Five or six meteors had embedded themselves into the stone floor, forming many large half-spheres on the ground.

As soon as Sora dropped the shield, several more giant Heartless Knights appeared. One of them in particular, standing at the crest of one of the bumps, caught Sora's interest. It had become obvious to him that as long as Maleficent sat above the battle, the fight would never end. He needed to get to her, and he thought he knew just the way to do it.

"Hold them off, guys. I'll get Maleficent!" Sora said. Donald and Goofy nodded and attacked the Heartless, while Sora himself charged toward the one he had noticed earlier.

Dodging it's low strike, and dismissing the Keyblade, Sora propelled himself over it's shield with both hands and landed on it's broad shoulders. Without giving the Heartless time to react, Sora used it's body as springboard and launched himself toward Maleficent's platform, just barely catching the edge of it with his fingers. Maleficent sneered down at him.

"How wise of you Keyblade Master. But, unfortunately, I must be rid of you now." taking the end of her staff, Maleficent touched the green orb tip to Sora's right hand. A flash of burning pain spread down his fingers, forcing him to let go of the floating hunk of floor, leaving him dangling by only one hand. As Maleficent brought her staff to touch his other hand, Sora summoned the Keyblade to his still pained right hand and, with all the force he could muster, brought it up and around, smacking Maleficent in the head with the blunt side. The witch stumbled back and lost control of her telekinetic powers being exerted upon her platform, just as Sora let go and tumbled toward the ground.

"Reflect!" Donald yelled, and a reverse reflect spell appeared beneath Sora, catching him gently in the middle of the half-sphere.

Maleficent's platform hung in the air for a few silent moments, before it crashed to the ground. It splintered apart, sending rock fragments sailing across the Castle Chapel. Maleficent rose slowly from the rubble, a noticeable spike of rock sticking through her gut. Dark red blood stained her black robe, while a few dribbles of the red substance leaked from her mouth.

Without a word, Maleficent turned weakly and stumbled forward, leaning heavily on her staff. A dark portal appeared a front of her, and as she stepped through it, a piece of paper slipped from her robes.

"Let's go after her!" Donald said, moving forward.

Sora stared at the portal Maleficent had exited through, feeling pity for the witch. She was badly wounded and retreating. Should he follow her? It seemed kind of like overkill.

But then, Sora remembered the things she had done, and all the pain she had caused. All the people who had been taken by the Heartless thanks to her. Sora knew then that he couldn't let her retreat and heal, just to go and cause more trouble across the universe. She and her evil had to be stopped here.

"Don't think you can get away that easily!" Sora, adrenaline racing, scooped up the piece of paper, an Ansem Report, and dove into the portal after Maleficent.

Through the portal, Sora, Donald and Goofy found themselves in a large, round tower. Sora felt his ears pop. Did that mean they were higher up? He couldn't really remember. It certainly felt like they were higher.

In the middle of the room stood Maleficent, blood dripping to the floor in red drops.

"You..." she coughed. "Followed me here, Keyblade Master. Do you really wish to fight a dying woman?"

"But if you live, you'll just keep using the Heartless to take over the universe!" Donald yelled. "And we can't let you do that!"

Maleficent smirked. "Are you really so dense as to think I'll live? I have been impaled by a large piece of rock, and am slowly bleeding out. I doubt I have much longer."

"Do you need some help?" a voice that sounded somewhat like Riku's, yet not, echoed across the tower. A dark portal opened next to Maleficent, and out stepped Riku himself, dressed all in black.

"Riku!" Sora cried.

"Is that a-" Donald pointed to Riku's hand. Sora noticed that Riku was holding a black Keyblade. Where had he gotten that?

"Yes, a Keyblade." Riku replied, his voice sounding much deeper than normal. "But unlike yours, this Keyblade holds the power to unlock people's hearts." he held the blade up. "Allow me to demonstrate. Behold!" Riku twisted and stabbed Maleficent in the chest with his Keyblade. Sora flinched in surprise.

"Now, open your heart, surrender it to the darkness!" Riku plunged the blade deeper. "Become darkness itself!" he slowly pulled the sword from her chest, and disappeared back into the same portal he had arrived by.

Maleficent's eyes widened, her voice no longer pained. In fact, she looked joyed. "This is it! This power!" a green light emanated from Maleficent. "Darkness...the true Darkness!" the green light became an inferno that shot to the ceiling, completely eclipsing Maleficent. The tower shook and from the flames stepped a gargantuan dragon. Completely black, with glowing green eyes.

Was this even this Maleficent anymore, Sora wondered?

The dragon reared back on it's hind legs and roared, blasting green fire at Sora, Donald and Goofy. All three jumped out of the way, just in time, and readied their weapons. From the corner of his eye, Sora saw something long and black moving towards him, but couldn't move fast enough. The dragon's tail whipped around and smacked Sora from his feet, sending the boy tumbling through the air, and landing hard on his back, knocking the wind out of him.

Sensing easy prey, the dragon turned to Sora's prone form and opened it's long mouth, filled with glistening rows of teeth.

"Hey you! Look over here!" Donald yelled and called out a thunder spell, hitting the dragon in middle of it's back. Turning away from Sora, the dragon brought it's full attention to Donald and Goofy. Sora sucked in air, and sat up, trying to catch his breath. He noticed that the dragon's tail lay right beside him, and he got an idea. With as much speed as he could muster, Sora jumped as high on the tail as he could, using it to climb onto the dragon's lower back. Remembering Cerberus in the Olympus Coliseum, Sora knew he had to get a grip somewhere on the dragon before it tried to throw him off. Seeing no places on the slick scales to get a good hold, Sora decided to make his own by plunging the Keyblade into the dragon's back. Driving it deeply in, Sora held onto the hilt for dear life as the dragon roared and tried to throw Sora off.

Donald fired a blizzard attack at the dragon's face, succeeding in freezing the upper-left side. Sora took a cue from the duck mage, and, with the Keyblade still lodged firmly in the dragon's back, he launched a Fire attack _inside _the dragon. With pain overwhelming the creature, and sending it stumbling, Sora knew he only had a few moments before the dragon regained control of itself, and became more angry than ever. Pulling the Keyblade from the black flesh with a nauseating squish, Sora ran up the dragon's back towards it's head, dragging the Keyblade along behind him, cutting a long line down the dragon's back. When he reached the head, he leapt and landed precariously on the dragon's snout. He lifted the Keyblade for a stab, but the dragon regained control of itself and, a new fire burning in it's eyes, threw Sora from it's head with a jerk.

As Sora crashed to the floor beside Donald and Goofy, he watched as the dragon seemed to lose it's mind from the pain. Without any particular target in mind, the dragon lashed out. It's tail smashed into a wall with great force, breaking the ancient bricks and sending them tumbling out into the air. From that, Sora got his first confirmation that they were incredibly high, perhaps even at the tallest tower of the Castle.

The dragon also began to breathe it's green fire in all directions, burning the gray walls black and catching the wooden roof on fire. Support beams began to collapse to the ground, as the open wall took it's toll on the structure of the tower and it started to fall apart. The dragon continued to rampage until Heartless formed up from the ground. Slowly, but surely, they climbed up the dragon's thick legs and swarmed over it's body. They consumed the dragon from the outside, using the darkness inside. When the Heartless disappeared, there was nothing left of the dragon.

"We gotta get outta here!" Goofy yelled, dodging a large rock.

"How ironic!" A voice yelled above the sound of the collapsing tower. "She was just another puppet after all." Sora looked to see Riku standing in the midst of the room, unconcerned with it's current state. "The Heartless were using Maleficent from the beginning..." the edges of his lips tugged with an unexplained fascination. "She failed to notice the darkness eating away at her heart. A fitting end for such a fool." his eyes caught Sora and he waved, just before a pile of flaming wood fell from the ceiling and blocked Riku from view.

"Riku!" Sora yelled, and started forward, only to be grabbed by Donald and Goofy.

"We gotta go!" Donald said, and together he and Goofy dragged Sora, not completely unwilling, back into the dark portal.

When they arrived back at the Castle Chapel, they heard the sound of the tower crumbling in the distance, shaking Hollow Bastion to it's core.

Sora wiped his forehead and fell back against the wall. They had defeated Maleficent. But it wasn't over. He still had to find Kairi, and stop whatever Riku had become, because Riku sure as heck wasn't Riku anymore.

"_Keep going, Sora. Everyone's waiting."_

* * *

_**The Report of Ansem: Studies into the Heart**_

_**Part Five**_

_To study Heartless behavior, I picked out one for observation. It wiggled its antennae and, as if sensing a target, headed deep into the Castle. In the deepest part of the Castle, it's antennae began vibrating, as if searching for something._

_Suddenly, a strange door appeared. I'd never known of its existence. It had a large Keyhole, but didn't seem to be locked, so I opened the door._

_What I saw on the other side mystified me. What was that powerful mass of energy? That night, I observed a great meteor shower in the sky. Could it be related to the door that I have opened?_

_**~Ansem.**_

* * *

_Oh, now this is getting gooood! :D_

_Yes, I changed Riku's dark attire. I always hated his old dark mode clothes, and I had here the chance to change that._

_~Mars_


	18. How to Save a Life

_I'll be saying this for the rest of my life, won't I? I don't own Kingdom Hearts._

* * *

_**Chapter XVIII: How to Save a Life  
**I took the stars from my eyes,  
and then I made a map,  
I knew that somehow I could find my way back.  
Then I heard your heart beating,  
you were in the darkness, too,  
so I stayed in the darkness_

_with you.  
~Cosmic Love by Florence+the Machine_

Sora stood unmoving, the entrance to the Grand Hall stretching out in front of him as an open room, covered in ornate rugs and draperies. Embedded in it's stone walls were six glass caskets, each containing a woman in extravagant dress. Out of them, Sora recognized only Alice from Wonderland and Jasmine from Agrabah. He had no idea who the other four were.

At any other time, Sora would've stopped to try and help them. To see if he could release them from their glass prison, and their deep sleep. But this was not any other time. Sora could feel a tugging on his heart like never before, leading beyond the hall, pushing him to walk forward and climb the winding stairways that led to an upper area at the far end of the Grand Hall. He couldn't see what lay atop it, but he could hear a constant humming.

"Sora! Shouldn't we have a plan before we go barging in here?" Goofy asked.

Sora looked back at his friend and shrugged, speaking no accompanying words. Whatever would happen when he climbed those stairs, he would deal with it as it came. He had never really liked making plans, anyway.

From behind the the group, through the still open door, the pained screams of Heartless could be heard, and they were coming closer. Donald placed a hand out in front of Sora.

"You keep going. Me and Goofy will hold off the Heartless."

Sora looked at Donald for a moment, as if in a trance. "Thanks, Donald."

Donald nodded. "C'mon Goofy."

"Good luck, Sora. Holler if you need us!" Goofy smiled.

Sora felt a slight smile grow on his face as well. "Will do."

With that, Donald and Goofy turned back to the door and walked out into the Castle Chapel. They were going to hold off the Heartless until Sora did whatever he needed to do.

Moving slowly and silently through the hall, Sora could only wonder at this place. Everything he had done since the Islands had taken him to this moment. To this place. To this Castle, high in the sky. Standing in front of the bottom stair, it seemed to him that something would change when he reached the top. Whether it be Riku, the Heartless, or even Kairi.

"_I'm here, Sora. Right here."_

Sora felt it again, that tugging on his heart. An enticing feeling that begged him to climb the stairs, an urge which he had no problem satisfying. Arriving at the top, Sora's eyes fell first upon the large, heart shaped Keyhole that hummed quietly to his right, covering up most of the wall. What wasn't covered by the Keyhole, was masked by tubes, and pipes and cables. Machinery. Another staircase ended across from him, and every other side of the platform he now stood on ended abruptly, dropping many feet to the Hall below.

But then Sora noticed it. The single glass coffin propped up at an angle against a block of wood, positioned like a front row seat for the show that was the fluctuating Keyhole. As Sora stepped closer, the white reflection on the glass moved out of view and he got a glimpse of who was inside the final coffin.

Kairi.

Breaking his pattern of slow movement, Sora made a mad dash toward the girl behind the glass. He popped the cover off with a slight hiss, and gently took Kairi by her petite shoulders.

"Kairi? Kairi are you okay?" he asked her silent form. He noticed for the first time that she wore a bright blue, strapless dress that hung with silky ruffles from her cream-colored shoulders. He couldn't help but blush slightly at the sight.

"Kairi?" he shook her gently, cradling her red covered head. No response. Sora cast Cure by instinct, but it only succeeded in healing a small scar above her left eye that he hadn't noticed before. No other response. A sudden realization crashed through Sora's mind.

Was she...? Had she been...this whole time?

No. It...couldn't be. She couldn't be...dead. Not after all this.

"Kairi..." he whispered. "Kairi...just...open your eyes, Kairi, please..." he felt a tear run down his face. "For me, Kairi, open your eyes. Please..."

Sora had always thought he wouldn't have anymore worries after he found Kairi. That he wouldn't want anything more, because he would've found exactly what he had been searching for, but here he was, holding Kairi in his arms, and wanting nothing more than to see her deep blue eyes sparkle again.

Another tear fell and he made no move to wipe it's followers away. He pulled Kairi's limp body towards him, embracing it in a desperate hug. His body shook as he clutched her tightly.

"It's no use..." Riku's overlayed and deep voice echoed from above. "That girl has lost her heart. She cannot wake up."

Sora slowly placed Kairi back in the case, but didn't close the glass cover. He turned, wiping the tears away quickly, and looked up to see Riku sitting atop the golden casing around the Keyhole.

"You..." Sora swallowed. "You're not Riku, are you?"

Not-Riku tilted his head and jumped, floating through the air slowly, and landing on his boots as softly as a tiptoe. "The Keyhole cannot be completed, so long as the last Princess of Heart still sleeps."

"The Princess...?" Sora looked back at Kairi. "Kairi's a Princess?"

"Yes, and without her power, the Keyhole remains incomplete." Not-Riku took a step forward. "It's time she awakened."

Sora pulled out the Keyblade defensively, taking his place between Not-Riku and Kairi. "Whoever you are, let Riku go! Give him back his heart!"

"But first, you must give the Princess back her heart!" Not-Riku stretched out his hand and clenched his fist. Sora felt a sharp pain explode in his chest, forcing him to his knees, a scream ripping itself from his lips.

"_Sora!"_

"Wh—What's happen—" Sora gasped.

"Don't you see yet?" Not-Riku yelled, more frustrated than angry. "The Princess' heart is responding! It has been there all along! Kairi's heart rests within you!"

Sora's breath caught in his throat. "Kairi...Kairi's inside my heart?" he turned his head weakly to look at Kairi's body, remembering all the times she had appeared to him in his journey.

"She is. And I wish to draw her out." Not-Riku declared, bringing Sora's attention back to him.

"Tell me!" Sora inhaled harshly. "Who are you?"

Not-Riku chuckled, a bone-chilling sound, and raised his arms as if welcoming a god. "It is I, Ansem. The Seeker of Darkness."

Ansem? Wasn't he the guy that Leon had said was studying the Heartless? The one that Aerith had said was a good leader of his people? The one who wrote all the reports he had been finding? That Ansem?

This man was insane. Nothing like what the others had described.

Perhaps the darkness had driven him to madness.

"So." Ansem's voice seemed to become even deeper, totally eclipsing any clue that Riku's voice had once been there at all. "I shall release you now, Princess. Complete the Keyhole with your power! Open the door and lead me into everlasting darkness!"

Time shifted into slow-motion for Sora as he watched Ansem-Riku raise Riku's sword up and charge across the platform. Sora made no move to block the attack, still catching his breath on the ground. Would this be where it ended for him? Could he even go on after this, knowing that both his best friends were gone?

What was the point?

"_Sora! Look out!"_

Sora snapped his arm up, calling forth the Keyblade, and blocked the powerful downward strike. What had brought him to do that? Had it been Kairi, calling to him from inside his own heart?

Sora decided then that if he wasn't going to fight for himself, then he would at least fight to defend Kairi. He couldn't let this man get his hands on her.

"Forget it!" Sora snarled, pushing Ansem-Riku back with the Keyblade and standing to his feet. "There's no way you're taking Kairi's heart!"

Ansem-Riku laughed. "Oh, a gallant knight who's going to fight for his Princess? How amusing!"

Wasting no time, Sora lunged forward, stabbing toward Ansem-Riku. Stepping to the side, easily dodging it, Ansem-Riku launched a slash at Sora's neck, forcing Sora to bring the Keyblade up and block it awkwardly.

"Is that it? All you have, Keyblade Master?" Ansem-Riku said, reaching his left hand under Sora's block and releasing an orb of dark energy at Sora's torso, sending the boy flying back.

Sora grunted, taking note of his burnt clothes and scarred chest, not stinging so much as burning. Gritting back the pain, Sora threw the Keyblade like a boomerang toward Ansem-Riku, who blocked it with a slash, sending it tumbling back to Sora. Catching it in mid-run, Sora brought a quick slash down on Ansem-Riku, breaking skin on the dark being's shoulder. Ansem-Riku took a step back, clutching the wound.

"Huh. Excellent shot, Sora." he acknowledged.

"Thanks." Sora returned. For the briefest of moments, Sora felt the warm satisfaction he used to feel when Riku congratulated him on a good hit back on the Islands. For a moment, he could almost just convince himself that they were there, out on the beach, fighting each other for kicks just like every other day. Normality. Then it all crashed to the ground when he remembered that the Islands were gone, Kairi's body lay empty behind him, and Riku was no longer Riku. Was anything the same anymore?

Charging forward again, Sora followed up with three quick strikes, all of which Ansem-Riku blocked. Bringing a black-booted foot up in an arc, Ansem-Riku kicked Sora in the head, sending the Keyblade Master stumbling to the side. Refusing to let up, Ansem-Riku slashed down at Sora again, who drunkenly blocked the strike, and, using the momentum from his stumbling, brought the Keyblade up in a forceful strike to the side. Sora succeeded in striking Ansem-Riku in the hip, lodging the Keyblade deeply in flesh. Ansem-Riku howled in pain and threw out a wild strike at Sora, cutting him across the forehead. Blood poured from the cut, stinging his eyes and obscuring his sight. Sora released the Keyblade to wipe the blood from his face, feeling it beginning sting his eyes. Ansem-Riku, gritting his teeth, reached down and dislodged the Keyblade from his body, tossing it to the side. Hearing it clatter on the ground, Sora called it back to his hand and began to cast a cure spell.

"Cu-"

"Oh no, Sora, not yet!" Ansem-Riku interrupted, kicking Sora squarely in the chest. Sora flew backwards, crashing into one of the pipes beside the Keyhole, knocking the wind out of him.

Sora wiped the blood from his eyes just in time to see Ansem-Riku fire a dark energy ball. Diving out of the way and towards his enemy, Sora went for a low strike at Ansem-Riku's left foot. Smashing into it with the blunt side of the Keyblade, the foot gave a satisfying crack and caved out underneath him. As Ansem-Riku hit the floor, Sora brought the Keyblade up for a stab. Just before he thrust down, though, Ansem-Riku rolled out of the way, and Sora's blow glanced off the stone floor. Rolling to a kneel across from Sora, Ansem-Riku sneered.

"Welcome oblivion, Sora!" he yelled, the space around him twisting in on itself from the darkness. It contorted and swirled and Ansem-Riku moved into a speed too fast for Sora's eyes to follow, only seeing a brief flash of darkness plow towards him. Without time to move, Sora was knocked high into the air, crashing to the ground a few feet away. Only seconds after pushing himself to his feet, the darkness flew past him again, throwing Sora into one of the railings along the edge of the high platform. Sora felt something in his lower chest snap, and a wave of pain overwhelmed him. With what strength he had left, Sora attempted to cast a cure spell, but the darkness crashed into him again, sending him flying once more. He landed with a dull thud. Grabbing the nearest thing to help him to his feet, Sora found he had been tossed back in front of Kairi's glass coffin. He winced in pain and bit his lip as he leaned up against the edgings of the glass box. He felt like he had broken something in his chest and perhaps his face. His forehead was still leaking blood, and he was sure he had more bruises than he could count. He wanted to yell for Donald and Goofy, but he couldn't bring his voice to speak above anything but a low grumble.

Bracing himself for what he was sure would be Ansem-Riku's final attack, Sora stole one last, lingering glance at Kairi. Her face was so peaceful; dark, red hair falling smoothly, almost covering her left eye. Small, pinkish lips pulling in small breaths he hadn't noticed before. A slight redness to her cheeks gave Sora hope that she could still make it through this, no matter what happened to him. Her dark blue eyes remained unseen, though, hidden behind eyelids. Sora still wished he could've looked into them one more time. He took in a labored breath, and smiled at Kairi with bloodied lips.

"I wish things coulda stayed the same, Kairi...you...asked me to never change, but..." Sora pushed himself off the coffin, standing weakly on his own two feet, pain still sweeping through his body. "I guess I can't stop the world from changing." he spit out a mouthful blood. "I just want you, me and Riku to sit on the Paopu Tree again and watch the sunset. That's...all I ever really wanted." he smiled tiredly. "Seems a little silly now, huh?"

"_Oh, Sora..."_

"Kairi. She was such an adorable child." Ansem-Riku hacked a bitter cough behind Sora, showing his condition wasn't terribly better than his adversary's. "Always was a curious little girl."

"What?" Sora turned to stare at his enemy, using the Keyblade as support. "You knew her?"

Ansem-Riku laughed, but it sounded more like a wheeze to Sora. "Knew her? I was like an Uncle to her, boy! I even took care of the young Princess on occasion!"

The thought that this man, this evil, dark, insane man had ever known Kairi, let alone been almost family, struck Sora as incredibly profane.

"What do you want?" he bit out.

"Nothing less than the ultimate darkness, Keyblade Master. To know. I want to know every secret this world, this universe, holds. Those things which it hides in the darkness." Ansem-Riku leveled his dark Keyblade at Sora. "And I seek the ultimate darkness, that which could multiply the Heartless tenfold should I so desire."

"And how..." Sora wiped his bloody forehead with his arm. "are you gonna do that?"

"Kingdom Hearts." Ansem-Riku smiled, a row of white teeth stretching across a darkened face.

"What's Kingdom Hearts?" Sora asked.

"The Heart of All Worlds, the summation of life. Since every heart's basic nature is darkness, the largest Heart in existence will, by necessity, have the greatest darkness! Don't you see? Kingdom Hearts holds all the answers!" Ansem-Riku sighed. "But how could I expect you to understand? One who knows nothing can understand nothing."

The world seemed to slow around Sora. _One who knows nothing can understand nothing. _That's what the cloaked man in The Secret Place had said! Before the Islands were destroyed! The man who talked about the darkness and the destruction of the Islands!

"You! That was you on the Islands, wasn't it? You were with the Heartless when they destroyed it!" Sora accused, pointing his own Keyblade back at Ansem-Riku. "You destroyed my home!"

"Surprise. If it's any consolation, your world was the most delicious one in a long time. Quite tasty, indeed."

With a roar of anger, Sora charged Ansem-Riku, swinging the Keyblade wildly. His body screamed in protest, but Sora ignored it. Ansem-Riku was forced back by the ferocity of Sora's blows, put completely on the defensive. With one mighty strike, Sora sent Ansem-Riku tumbling back into the middle of the pulsating Keyhole. His body connected with the rippling energy field, and lightning danced across him in a hideous display. Ansem-Riku convulsed, the Keyhole screeched and Sora watched in fear. With a final jolt, Ansem-Riku was thrown from the Keyhole and he tumbled to his knees.

"Sora...?" Ansem-Riku said slowly, with more of Riku's voice than Ansem's. His body collapsed forward and disappeared, leaving the dark Keyblade to fall to the ground with an empty clang that echoed endlessly around both the Grand Hall and Sora's mind.

"Riku!" Sora yelled, but there was no one left to yell to.

What had happened to his friends? To the simplicity of the Islands? What had led them all here, to this Castle? To this dark place?

Why had things changed?

Then the thought hit Sora, bowing him.

Had he just killed Riku? Had he just killed his best friend?

He had, hadn't he?

It was then that Sora broke. The pain, both physical and emotional, washed over him like a wave and he collapsed into a heap on the cold floor, tears streaming down his face, running through and around the dried blood.

"Sora...?" Donald's raspy voice called out quietly.

Not caring if his friends saw him in this state, Sora looked up, sniffling, his blood-and-tear stained face desperate.

"Hey...guys..."

"Sora! What happened?" Goofy asked, running up to his friend and placing a long arm around him. Sora just shook his head and cried all the more. Sharing a look with each other, Donald and Goofy didn't ask anything else, and just sat with Sora while he lay broken.

After awhile, and many tears, Sora finally spoke. "You...you guys came..."

"Of course we did!" Donald replied.

"You hollered, didn'tcha?" Goofy asked. "And that's what friends do. They come when ya need them the most!"

"Thanks guys, you're the best." Sora swallowed and pulled himself weakly to his feet, pain still coursing strongly through him, namely from his aching chest. "Let's finish this..." He limped forward and stumbled, only to be caught by Goofy.

"Sorry, Sora, I'd cast a cure spell on you, but fighting all the Heartless..." Donald trailed off contritely.

"It's okay, Donald." Sora mumbled. "I'm learning to deal."

Supported by both Donald and Goofy, Sora lifted the Keyblade and pointed it toward the giant Keyhole. Nothing happened. As tempted as he was to just leave it, and allow the Heartless to do whatever they wanted to this cursed world, Sora knew there was something wrong with the Keyhole that had to be fixed. Hadn't Ansem mentioned it was incomplete without Kairi's heart? What should he do now? Wasn't Kairi's heart still inside of him? How was he supposed to get it out and back to her?

"_This Keyblade holds the power to unlock people's hearts."_

"Hey...Donald..." Sora gestured weakly. "Do you think you could get me that Keyblade over there?"

Donald cocked his head. "Sure, Sora...whatever you say." he waddled over and picked it up, bringing it back to his friend.

"Thanks." Sora smiled weakly and took it from Donald's outstretched hand.

"Uh, whatcha gonna do with it?" Goofy asked. Sora just shook his head and placed a hand on Goofy's shoulder.

Releasing himself from his friend's grip, Sora took his first step toward Kairi. This would serve a dual-purpose, he thought; finish the Keyhole(Which was important enough as it is) and save Kairi.(an even more important goal to him). He would finally be able to awaken her.

As Sora took his first, slow steps toward Kairi, he thought, and he remembered.

He remembered the times he and Kairi had stayed up all night talking, hiding from sleep. He remembered the stories they would share, and the books they would read together.

He took another step.

Sora remembered the first time he had stayed over at her house and there had been a storm. She had been scared, so they built a blanket fort in hid in it all night while the thunder roared outside.

Another step.

Sora remembered the time she and Riku had given him his crown necklace, and he had eagerly agreed to wear it forever. He remembered the smile on her face when he said that he loved it.

Another step.

Sora remembered when he had taught Kairi how to swim. It had been a long affair, which ended mostly with them playfully splashing each other until they had to go home. She had eventually learned to swim, but only after Riku had come along to give them direction.

Another step.

Sora remembered the first time Kairi hugged him. He had forgotten to get her a birthday present and had spent the whole day doing odd jobs across Morningheath for money. When he arrived an hour and a half late for the party, he had apologized and explained to her that he hadn't gotten enough money for a "good gift". His head was hanging low when she had wrapped her arms around him and given him a quick squeeze. "I'm just glad you're here, Sora. You came, that's all that matters!"

She hadn't whispered to him until afterward that he still owed her a present.

Come to think of it, he still hadn't gotten her that present.

Another step.

Sora remembered the time when the school bully had decided to turn his sights on Sora. Riku had offered to beat him up for him, but Kairi asked to talk to him first.

Sora watched in awe as the new girl, with nothing more than kind words, convinced the bully that beating up people wasn't right. Her words had been filled with stutters of fright an "Ums" of uncertainty, but a year later Sora counted the bully as one of his friends.

Another step.

Sora remembered the time he and Kairi had stayed up watching movies, a favorite hobby of theirs, and she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He didn't move all night for fear of waking her up, but nor did he fall asleep, thanks to anxiety. Riku had found them, Kairi sleeping peacefully and Sora with eyes wide and bloodshot, the next morning. He had laughed his head off while Sora had begged him to please be quiet.

Another step.

Sora thought of all the times his heart had skipped at her appearance. He remembered the first time he saw her in a real dress at a Christmas Party at the age of thirteen, and his speech had suddenly, and mysteriously, failed him, leaving him to talk in confusing, run-on sentences the whole night.

His heart had skipped an awful lot during that party.

With one final step, Sora stood in front of Kairi's glass coffin. Thoughts and memories continued to crash through his head, the sum of his entire life with Kairi, a sum he found of unimaginable worth. He took one look down at the dark Keyblade in his hands.

He was going to save Kairi. Whatever it cost him.

In one deadly moment, Goofy, across the room, realized what Sora's plan was, and tried to stop him. "Wait, Sora, hold on!"

Sora glanced back at Donald and Goofy, giving them a weak grin, similar to the one Donald had prompted when the three had first met in Traverse Town. It seemed like ages ago now. Donald and Goofy had turned out to be awesome friends.

Sora spun back and took one lingering glance at the beautiful redhead inside the coffin. He finally knew what all the feelings that had been swirling around for ages inside his heart were.

"This one's for you, Kairi."

Sora had figured that he loved Kairi Akai Yureru.

With one swift movement, Sora took the dark Keyblade by the blade and plunged it into his chest.

Immediately, a light flashed and the Keyblade dissolved, turning into six glowing hearts. Each one hung in the air for a moment before returning to their homes in each of the Six Princesses in the hall below. A second light flashed, and a seventh heart floated slowly from Sora's chest. It, too, hung in the air before wafting to Kairi's body, and disappearing inside. The Final Keyhole released a defeaning sonic boom and Kairi's eyes fluttered open. Sora allowed his arms to fall limply to his sides in relief, as a blinding light began to cover him. He was content now. He had seen Kairi's honest, loving blue eyes again, proving to him that everything would be okay from here on out.

Because Kairi was okay. After everything. After all this. She was okay.

Sora felt his body lift from the ground and he allowed his own eyes to fall shut. This wasn't so bad, he thought. Donald and Goofy would make sure Kairi made it back to Traverse Town safely without him.

Sora grinned one last time when he realized he was still just following his heart.

* * *

With a slight flutter, Kairi opened her eyes.

What had happened? Where was she? What was going on-

All thoughts ceased in Kairi's mind when she saw Sora floating in front of her. Golden light flashed around him and, starting with his legs, he began to disappear. Every other thought became secondary to fact that something bad was happening to Sora.

"Sora!" Kairi yelled, pushing herself from the casket she had been laying in, not wondering once what she had been doing in such a ominous place. Taking two quick steps, Kairi crashed to the floor, tripping over the hem of the blue dress she was wearing. When had she put on a dress?

Setting these thoughts, too, aside, Kairi pushed herself to her feet and, hiking up her dress, ran to Sora. She reached him just in time for the final spike of his brunette hair to disappear, fading away into glimmers of light that slowly dissipated into the darkness of the room around her.

Kairi stood shocked, hands at her sides. What had happened?

Suddenly, memories rushed back to her.

Memories of the Islands. Of feeling something unsettling in Riku and going out to Kinshou during the storm to check on him. Of being drawn to the Secret Place and seeing that tall door there again. Of hearing Sora call her name and feeling everything turn to black.

From then on she had vague memories of being someplace warm and comforting. She had felt no worries there, and, as it seemed to her, everything was right with the world. It then seemed only a few moments ago, when something had jostled her place of rest and sent it careening wildly. It had seemed as though she was being dragged from it by force.

From there, Kairi remembered bits and pieces of conversation about her heart being in Sora's and how it had to be drawn out to complete something called a Keyhole, and about how she was a Princess of Heart. Whatever that was.

In a moment of realization, it all clicked for Kairi.

Sora, oh god, Sora had sacrificed himself for her, hadn't he? He had unlocked his heart to release her's and return it to her body. Sora had come all this way for her. To save her. And now he had willingly paid the ultimate price for her rescue. Tears began to fall freely from Kairi's eyes.

"Sora...are you really...?" She sniffed and swallowed determinedly. "No...he can't be...I won't let him go.."

Kairi wiped her eyes with a blue-gloved hand and noticed for the first time that an odd duck creature was looking worriedly around the area, yelling for Sora. Beside it stood another creature resembling a dog.

Oddly, she wasn't shocked at their appearance. In fact, she felt as though she knew them. Was it because of Sora?

Sora...

Kairi collapsed to her knees from the weight of her sudden new memories. Her home, her family, her friends were all gone. She had no idea where Riku was and Sora...Sora had just...disappeared right in front of her. What was she supposed to do now? Where was she supposed to go? Did it really matter, anyway? Sora was gone, Riku was gone, the Islands and all her family and friends were gone. Did she have anything left? She just wanted to back to that warm, wonderful place again.

She supposed now, looking back, that place must have been Sora's heart. It figured that Sora's heart would feel so peaceful, he had always been such a laid-back, unruffled person.

Had. She had just referred to Sora in the past-tense.

Kairi again wiped her tears. She had one thing left, and that was her determination to find Sora. She would spend her whole life looking for him, if that's what it took. She and the duck and the dog would look for him together.

But where to start?

Suddenly, the room shook and the massive, heart shaped machination across from Kairi started to leak darkness. It pooled out from all edges of the machine, dripping down it's sides, waterfalling from it's front. It fell like a river down to the ground and there it expanded, covering the whole floor. Feeling something evil from it, Kairi stood quickly to her feet, not wanting more of the darkness to touch her than necessary. It inched past her and, reaching the edge of the platform, tumbled off into the hall below. A few feet in front of Kairi, the darkness seemed to expand in size and take on human form, cementing itself into a tall, heavily tanned man with pushed-back, straight white hair that fell to his mid-back.

He wore a long, black and gray leather coat that extended to his ankles, opened down the middle to reveal a white dress jacket, also opened, and a well-muscled torso. Two black pauldrons were strapped to each of his shoulders, connected to the jackets by a black heart symbol, criss-crossed in bloody red. He wore white gloves that went up to almost to his elbows, and black boots almost up to his knees. The rest of his legs were covered in black slacks.

What bothered Kairi most about the man, though, was his bright yellow eyes that stared at her like she was a specimen under glass.

The man smiled, contrasting pure white teeth against a tanned face. "So, you have awakened at last, Princess. It does do my heart good to see you again, safe and sound, after all these years. The Keyhole is now complete. You have served every purpose I sent you out for."

"How do you know me?" Kairi asked hostilely.

"Oh, you don't remember me, Kairi? I'm wounded. I was like family to you." the man took a step forward, arms outstretched for a hug. Kairi shrank away. Suddenly, the duck and the dog from earlier were standing in front of her, the duck holding a wand and the dog holding a shield.

"Don't make another move!" The duck warned, holding out his weapon.

The dog-like one turned to look back at Kairi. "Don't worry, Miss Kairi, we're gonna make sure everything goes okay!"

The white-haired man sneered. "Do you honestly think you can stand against me and all the powers of darkness?" he took another step forward, but suddenly stopped, seeming to strain against an invisible force. "What? Impossible!"

Slowly, like a ghost fading in and out of reality, an transparent apparition of Riku appeared in front of the white-haired man, arms spread as if to hold the man back. Kairi wondered where Riku had been all this time and what had happened to him.

"No, Ansem, you won't use me for this!" Riku declared, voice straining. Ansem growled and attempted an unsuccessful step forward.

"Riku! What happened to you? Are you okay?" Kairi exclaimed. Riku slowly brought his eyes up to meet her's. Why did he seem ashamed? A slight, relieved smile crossed his face.

"He actually did it his way..." Riku snorted softly, and Kairi could have sworn she saw a single tear roll down her friend's ghostly cheek. But that couldn't have been possible. This was Riku, after all! She must've been mistaken.

"You've—you've got to run! The Heartless are coming!" Riku warned, still straining against Ansem.

"Not without you and Sora!" Kairi replied.

"I'll be fine! And Sora..." Riku trailed off. "Sora wouldn't want you to stay here with the Heartless!"

"But-"

"No buts, Kairi, we're not on the Island anymore!"

Kairi bit her lip, a nervous habit of hers.

Ansem smiled. "I'd listen to the boy, your Majesty. The window for escape is rapidly closing." he raised his hands and Heartless began to form from the darkness that misted the ground. Yet, Kairi still hesitated.

"Kairi, go!" Riku ordered, his form beginning to fade even faster.

Finally, Kairi nodded and allowed the dog creature to drag her away at a fast pace, using her other hand to hold up the hem of her dress. As they ran through the rest of the Grand Hall, Kairi noticed six other women in caskets just like hers. They seemed to be awakening, but the three runners had no time to stop and make sure, the pooling darkness having already begun to flow outside the Grand Hall.

The last sound Kairi heard as she exited the Hall was the sound of Ansem's laughter, like a mix of rich silk and murderous insanity.

Running like the wind through the Castle Chapel, brief introductions were made.

"I'm Goofy and this is Donald." the dog stated, gesturing at the duck beside him.

"Nice to meet you," Kairi replied, flying through the doors without slowing, "I'm Kai-"

"Oh, we know." Donald replied. "You're Kairi."

"How do you know who I am?" Kairi asked, breathing heavily as they passed through room after room and descended stair after stair.

"How do we know?" Donald snorted.

"Sora used to talk about you all the time! We might as well be best friends, huh?" Goofy smiled, but his smile dimmed as the thought of Sora came over the group.

"Sora..." Kairi murmured, stumbling down a flight of stairs. He was gone, wasn't he? He had sacrificed his life for hers and disappeared. She felt guilt weigh her steps. If she hadn't been in the condition she had been, Sora wouldn't have needed to...do what he did. And now...was she abandoning him? Was she abandoning him and Riku to this abominable Castle and it's darkness? Had she done everything she could to save them? Had she done anything at all?

In her distraction, in addition to the difficulty of running in a dress, Kairi hit the last step of the stairway awkwardly, and tumbled to the ground.

"Kairi!" Goofy said worriedly, sliding to a stop and running back to her collapsed form. "Gawrsh, Kairi, are you okay?"

"Is..is he really gone?" Kairi asked, tears slipping down her face as she stared up at Goofy, pleadingly. The Knight placed his arms around Kairi in a warm embrace.

"Everything'll be okay. Just you wait and see."

Kairi sniffled. Could everything ever be okay? Could she go beyond hope and make it okay again, all by herself?

"Sorry to interrupt, but we gotta go!" Donald stared anxiously up the stairs they had just come down.

Helping her to her feet, Goofy wiped Kairi's tears. "Donald's right. We gotta get outta here."

Pushing through a door a few feet in front of them, Donald gasped. "We're back at the Entrance Hall! Finally!" he stepped cautiously out onto the balcony that ran behind the fountain. Suddenly, the floor below them filled with the dark forms of Heartless, with everything from tiny, bug-like ones, to mammoth Knights. Donald and Goofy pulled out their weapons and stood protectively in front of Kairi.

"We don't have time to fight!" Kairi said quickly, dragging Donald and Goofy through the nearest door and down a side passage.

"Wah! Where are we going?" Donald asked, stumbling behind Kairi.

"I don't-" Kairi slowed to a stop when she found that she had led them to a dead end, a solid rock wall declaring the end of their escape.

"Just great..." Donald mumbled, turning with Goofy face the oncoming Heartless. Kairi, on the other hand, directed her attention to studying the wall, tracing her hands along it. It felt like an old friend, and for the life of her, she didn't know why. But still, it seemed as though a secret passage would fit nicely right-

_Click_

-there.

One of the rocks in the wall released a small hiss and slid inward. With another hiss of released air, a hidden passage opened in the wall.

"Come on, let's go!" Kairi urged.

"How'd you know this was here?" Donald asked.

"Don't question good luck!" Kairi replied, and disappeared into the passage. Donald shrugged.

"She's just like Sora said, isn't she, Goofy?"

"Yup..." Goofy answered, quietly remembering Sora. "She sure is."

"C'mon!" Kairi called to them. "Before the Heartless follow us!"

The passage was dark and dank, but it followed a straight line and so had no need for light. When they reached the end, Kairi pushed another part of the wall and stepped through. Shielding her eyes from the sickly light outside, Kairi found herself standing in a pool of ankle-deep water that soaked the edges of her dress. Behind her, Hollow Bastion stretched up into the slowly darkening clouds. Donald and Goofy ran past her to get out from near the Castle, but Kairi hung back, staring up at it's imposing magnificence.

"Kairi, hurry!" Goofy gestured, having already stepped out from the water and up onto a stone pathway.

Just a few moments ago, Kairi had been leading the charge out of the Castle, but now, she was unsure. She felt as though she was leaving her purpose behind. Leaving some hidden meaning covered and unexplored. Something was missing. Something wasn't right.

"I...I...you guys go on, I can't leave them behind." Kairi said. She noticed she said 'them' and not "Riku". Did she really think that Sora was still alive somewhere?

She didn't know if she could stand _not_thinking that.

"Look out! A Heartless!" Goofy yelled, pointing behind Kairi. She turned and saw a small Heartless standing still in the shadows of the passageway. It didn't move towards her, but nor did it scurry away.

"It's just a little one, forget about it! Now c'mon, Kairi, no more dilly-dallying, we gotta get outta here!" Donald commanded.

Kairi wasn't listening to Donald, rather, her total attention was drawn in by the small Heartless in front of her. She took a step forward, sending out ripples in the water, and the Heartless shrank back deeper into the shadows. There was just something about this Heartless, Kairi thought, it seemed almost...ashamed. As if it's very existence was an offense to the universe.

As she reached for it, it hid it's yellowed eyes behind it's two claws.

Somehow, Kairi felt like she knew this Heartless. Deep within her heart, she felt a kinship.

"Sora? Is that you?"

Picking up the creature like a stuffed animal, Kairi pulled it's claws from it's face. When she looked into it's yellow eyes, the world went black, and Kairi found herself standing in a world of darkness. Nothing above, nothing below. Just cold dark.

Suddenly, pictures began to flash around her, squares of color against the black.

Flashes of a spiky-haired boy gripping his mother around the leg while she cried in the doorway of their house. A man with his hat held respectfully in his hands was walking away, tears in his eyes as well.

"It's okay, Daddy's just gone for awhile. You'll..see him again one day...it's...okay..."

Flashes of the same boy on the edges of a playground, crying. Outcast by the the other children for one silly reason or another. A taller boy with long, silver hair walked up and reached a gloved hand down to the crying boy.

"You want to come with me?"

Flashes of the two boys sitting on a beach under a meteor shower. Something crashed into the water.

"Woah! What was that?"

Flashes of the spiky-haired boy talking on a dying Island to the silver-haired one.

"What do you think you're doing!"

Flashes of the boy waking up in a darkened town, all alone.

"Where did home go?"

Flashes of the boy fighting through many different places and many different people, two friends at his side. A dark castle rose high in the distance.

"Hold on. I'm on my way."

Flashes of the silver-haired boy whispering the spiky-haired boy's name, before disappearing into nothingness.

"Did I just kill my best friend...?"

Flashes of the boy stabbing himself with a long, black, Key-shaped sword.

"I think I might-"

All gone by in an instant, but Kairi felt every emotion represented: Loss, rejection, discovery, confusion, loneliness, determination. Joy. Contentment. Love.

The flashes faded, as did the darkness, revealing Kairi to be standing on a piece of land that seemed to have been lifted from the Islands. It floated in purple darkness, wind-whipping through it, a large hole of inky black floated above the spit of land, pulling everything in sight greedily toward itself. On the far side of the sand-covered land, Kairi spotted a figure with spiky, chestnut-colored hair.

"Sora!" Kairi ran across the Island, ignoring the pull of the black hole. The edges of her dress caught on the odd piece of wood, but she didn't care, and just simply stumbled on and let it rip. "You're alive!" she slid to a stop beside him. She had known he couldn't have been completely gone.

"Not for long."

"W-what do mean? What's going on?"

"The Islands are being destroyed. Again, Kairi." Sora spoke without looking at her. "Over and over and over. And there's nothing I can do."

"But...but we can get out! I'm here to get you!" Kairi grabbed Sora by the shoulder, but he shrugged her off.

"It doesn't matter. I've been holding off the darkness as much as I can, but..." he finally turned to look at Kairi. "But I'm...so tired."

Kairi gasped. Sora's eyes were yellow.

"Sora...your eyes-"

"-Are yellow. I know, Kairi. The darkness has been eating away at me. Out here" he gestured to the Island being pulled apart around them. "And in here." he placed a hand on his chest. "Soon, I'll be completely gone."

"You can't be serious, Sora! You've gotta come back with me!"

"I can't, Kairi. I'm stuck here, in this endless world of black. Maybe you can get out, but I can't."

The dark hole above them roared, reminding Kairi of it's presence. It sounded like Ansem.

"_Come, Sora."_

Sora started to stand up. "Goodbye, Kairi."

"No! You can't go!" Kairi yelled, and leapt onto Sora, knocking him to the ground.

"Kairi, what are you-?" Sora asked.

"I can't let you just go and become a Heartless, Sora!" Kairi glared into Sora's yellow eyes. "There's no way I'm gonna let that happen!"

"But...there's no way you can stop it-"

"No!" Kairi hugged Sora tighter. "I _can _stop it. I _will _stop it. You're not leaving now, not after everything you've done."

Suddenly, a light glowed from Kairi's heart and passed into Sora's chest. Sora screamed in pain and the dark world around them shattered. The Island floated for one horrible moment before it too shattered and Kairi, still clutching Sora, fell into darkness.

* * *

Kairi awoke laying on something comfortable, but firm. Looking up, she found herself staring into the groggy face of Sora. Bright, blue eyes and all. He smiled.

"Sora!" Heart soaring in relief, Kairi limply collapsed back onto his chest, grinning madly to herself. They had done it.

"Thanks, Kairi." he whispered into her hair.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy ran up and helped the two to their feet. Sora's back was soaking wet from laying in the shallow pool, but he didn't seem to care.

"Hey guys!" he hugged both of them.

Donald smacked Sora in the leg with his wand. "That was the stupidest thing anyone has ever done!"

Sora rubbed the back of his neck. He always did that when he was embarrassed, Kairi remembered.

"Yeah, maybe it was." Sora looked at Kairi. "But I had a good reason."

Donald rolled his eyes. "Just promise to never do it again."

"I'll try." Sora laughed.

Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass echoed from far above and a massive, hairy creature fell into the water beside the group. It roared and threw a stray Heartless from it's back.

"Beast!" Sora exclaimed.

"You must go. Now!" Beast ordered.

"You're coming with us, right?" Sora asked.

Beast looked back up at the window he had jumped through, searching for followers. "I told you before, I'm not leaving without Belle. Now go, the Heartless are coming."

Sora bit his lip. "Alright, let's get out of here." he grabbed Kairi by the wrist and, breaking into a run, the four friends left Hollow Bastion behind.

* * *

Outside a Mansion, in a Town of Twilight, a young boy with spiky-blonde hair slowly stood to his feet. Confused, he glanced around the wooded area he had awoken in.

Where was he?

What was he doing here?

Who was he?

Did he have a name? A home? Did he have any friends? Did he have a life? Anything?

He couldn't remember, and he had a feeling that even if he could, he wouldn't know how to make sense of any of those life-defining traits.

_Who Am I?_

Suddenly, a dark portal opened in front of him and out of it stepped a black-coated man, identity shrouded by a drawn-up hood.

Did this being know who he was?

The blonde-haired boy hung his head silently while the black-coated man observed him. Eventually, the man spoke in a deep, rich voice that seemed to massage the ears with it's velvet.

"Do you wish to know?" the man asked simply, not specifying further.

The boy, his mind significantly dulled, nodded slowly. Knowing absolutely anything would be good right now.

The black-coated man reached out a hand and waved it before the boy. Four letters appeared in the air, soon joined by an "X". The letters started to swirl together in a dizzying dance.

"Do you want meaning?" the black-coated man asked. The letters continued their spin, picking up speed as they raced around the boy's head. With a flick of his wrist, the man stopped the letters, leaving them to form a word. A name.

_**Roxas.**_

The black-coated man handed the boy a coat similar to his own.

"A new you."

* * *

Somewhere, far away from any other living being, a young girl awoke in a White Room. She barely remembered anything, only retaining bits and pieces of what seemed to be a former life. Faces here, knowledge there. Feelings. Feelings that seemed to be just out of the girl's capacity to express or experience.

The girl could only marvel at the room she was in. It was completely and utterly white, so white that the room appeared to be lit by the color itself. Totally achromic, devoid of any usage or markings. The room reflected her very being: Empty. Completely blank. Even her sundress was colored an unspoiled white.

Scouring the room, the girl found herself a pack of crayons and a few scattered pieces of paper. Not knowing nor caring how they got there, the girl began to draw the bits and pieces, afraid that she would forget them otherwise.

And as she drew, the girl, all alone in the White Room, wept.

* * *

The Grand Hall of Hollow Bastion had long gone quiet. Ansem's laughter being the last distinguishable sound the ancient walls had heard. Not a pleasant sound at all.

The only noise now was the mechanical hum of the Final Keyhole, and the occasional ruffle of a deck of cards being mixed.

Number X, that being a ten, mind you, and not simply an "X", lay reclining atop the massive Keyhole, having already reported to his Superior on the Keyblade Master's dealings. He had given his account of the child's self-sacrificial move, and now he had time to fill with his two favorite activities: Thinking, and card-playing.

He lazily slid the pliable deck through his hands, now bridging them, now spreading them. He picked one at random. The King of Spades.

Ah, the Kings. Leaders. Heroes. The Best of the Best, and the highest card, if the Ace is played as a one. But that hardly mattered, Aces were most often secret weapons, ergo "an ace up the sleeve".

Their leader, their Superior, was truly represented by the King of Spades, convincing, charismatic and dangerous. 'Ansem' was the King of Clubs, powerful and dark, and the Mouse King was the King of Diamonds.

Number X had often attempted to ascertain the identity of the King of Hearts, considering especially his club's occupation, and now...now he knew with great certainty the embodiment of the King of Hearts.. He was positive he would have felt great exhilaration at the discovery, had he still been able to. As it was, the identification of the King of Hearts left him with only a dull sense of newly acquired knowledge. Such a tragedy.

But foregoing the emotional side of the matter, Number X was quite content to know that, after what that boy had done, the true identity of the King of Hearts had been revealed, and quite dramatically so.

He cracked a smile at the irony of it all.

The Keyblade Master was the fabled Suicide King. The King of Hearts.

"Magnificent. Truly commendable show, Sora."

* * *

_And this...this was the chapter I've wanted to write the most, ever since the very beginning. I dearly hope you all enjoyed it._

_~Mars_


	19. Since Then

_No Kingdom Hearts for me. _

_Wow. Sorry for taking so long with this chapter! Life got really busy lately(school, training for a black belt test, and the summer life) and I never could find the time for this. :(_

_WARNING: SoKai fluff ahead!_

_SECOND WARNING: So about when the 100 Acre Wood part of this chapter started, I ran headfirst into writer's block. I had no idea how to string the minigame parts of the world together into a coherent plot. Therefore, when our heroes reach the Wood, this chapter will become something of a oneshot, showing brief snippets from their traveling. Hooray for changing the style up! Lemme know what you think!_

* * *

_**Chapter XIX: Since Then  
**__Piglet sidled up behind Pooh.  
_"_Pooh," he whispered.  
_"_Yes, Piglet?"  
_"_Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you."  
__~Winnie-the-Pooh_

Sora groggily opened his eyes to a quite normal-looking room around him, and a quite normal-feeling bed below him.

"-So the darkness is flowing out of that Keyhole..." Leon's monotone voice spoke in conversation with someone else. Sora was able to push himself to his elbows before an unbelievable pain in his chest announced itself. Sora gasped and collapsed back onto the bed.

"He's awake!" a female voice said quickly, followed by the sound of rushing feet. "Sora? How do you feel?"

"My chest—Kairi! Where's Kairi?"Sora asked anxiously, trying to push himself off the bed. Someone attempted to hold him back.

"Sora!" the female voice spoke gently, Sora finally recognizing it as Aerith's. "Sora, calm down. Kairi's okay. She's right here."

"Sora?"

Sora wiped the blur from his eyes and turned to see Kairi, wearing an oversized t-shirt and jeans, standing in the doorway to a kitchen, a jar of peanut butter in one hand and a spoon in the other. Relieved, Sora relaxed and stopped struggling against Aerith.

"Now, I need to check some things." Aerith grabbed a stethoscope from the nightstand, and placed the steel circle against Sora's chest. "I need you to take a few deep breaths."

Sora did as asked, cringing at the sharp pain that stabbed his chest with each inhale. "What happened?"

Kairi moved to sit beside him. "You collapsed when we reached the Gummi Ship. Aerith's been taking care of you."

"This is going to hurt a little, I'm afraid." Aerith said cheerfully, flicking a rather long syringe.

Sora shrunk away. "Uh, can't you just use Cure, Aerith? You're a master healer, after all, right?"

"Cure can only do so much." Aerith said happily, moving quickly to jab Sora in the arm with the needle. "But thank you for the compliment!"

Sora yelped and rubbed area where he had been mercilessly stabbed.

"Oh, c'mon, Sora. You've been through worse than needles." Kairi laughed, playfully shoving him. "Stop being such a baby."

Sora shoved back and continued nursing his arm.

Kairi shrugged, shook her head and scooped deeply into the peanut butter, stuffing the spoon-full contentedly in her mouth.

"So where's Donald and Goofy? And Yuffie?" Sora asked.

"Yuffie went out on patrol, and Donald said that he didn't like just waiting around. He and Goofy went with her." Aerith responded

"Kairi, Donald and Goofy told us what happened at Hollow Bastion." Leon spoke up. Sora had almost forgotten the solemn man was still there, he had been so quiet.

"With that Keyhole left unlocked, it's no wonder there are more and more Heartless everywhere." Aerith packed away her medical equipment. "The only way to stop them is-"

"-seal the Keyhole, right?" Sora finished.

"Maybe...but no one knows what will happen once it's sealed." Leon commented.

"But we just can't stay here." Sora replied. "We have to do something!"

"Then I guess we need to get you back to Hollow Bastion." Leon said decidedly.

"By the way...how did it look?" Aerith asked softly. "Hollow Bastion, I mean."

"Dead" Sora answered.

"Alone" Kairi answered simultaneously.

"We really only saw the Castle." Sora stated. "And it wasn't in good shape."

"What about the rest of the town?" Aerith asked.

"I didn't see it. Everything not a Castle was mostly was covered in fog ."

"I see...you know it was different once...covered in flowers..." Aerith trailed off, eyes focusing on places not in the room.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Cid strolled in. "Squall! We need to do something about these f***ing-" his eyes fell on Sora. "Oh, you're awake, kid. About time." he took a puff from his cigarette. "So what's happening?"

"We need to get Sora back to Hollow Bastion." Leon said.

Cid snorted. "Can't letcha do that, kid. Sensors say the Heartless there are multiplying by the second. They'd eat your ship up faster than you can say 'Where's my damn tea'!"

"Then what can we do?" Sora asked.

"Simple. Y'just go 'round 'em instead of through." Cid grinned. "Ain't you glad I'm a genius? Just install a new Nav-Gummi and you're good ta go."

"So where do we get this 'Gummi'?" Kairi asked quizzically.

"Right here." Cid patted one of his pockets. "Gonna take some time to install it, though. Might want to find some other way-" his eyebrows wriggled. "-To entertain yourselves."

"Cid!" Aerith admonished, broken out of her reverie.

"Well, we've found some pages of Merlin's book." Sora said, completely missing the maybe-maybe-not undertones of what Cid had said. "Might as well give them to him now." he turned to Kairi. "You're coming, right?"

Kairi nodded. "Of course."

"Race you!" Sora grinned and took off toward the door.

"Sora, you idiot!" Kairi was up and running. "I don't even know the way to this Merlin's house! No fair!"

As Sora opened the door, he plowed into something coming inward. "Donald, Goofy!"

"Sora!" Goofy exclaimed happily, tackling Sora in a large hug. "You're awake!"

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Sora yelped, pushing Goofy back. "Watch out, my chest still hurts like crazy."

"A-hyuck! Sorry, Sora!." Goofy said bashfully.

"Me and Kairi are going to see Merlin about those pages we found! You guys want to come?" Sora asked excitedly.

Donald peeked over to where Kairi was standing still inside. She gave a little wave. Donald looked back to Sora and smiled fiendishly.

"No, I think me and Goofy'll stay here."

"Aw, but Donald-"

"No buts, Goofy! I'm tired, you're tired-"

"But I'm not-"

"You're tired." Donald insisted. "Guess it'll just be you and Kairi, Sora."

Sora looked at Donald oddly. "Um, okay. If you say so." he looked back to Kairi. "Race is still on!" and pushed past Goofy. Kairi blanched and quickly followed, but not before returning the peanut butter to it's proper place in the kitchen.

"Damn kids." Cid muttered and turned back to Leon. "Anywho, as I was saying, these f***ing Moogles are everywhere, Squall..."

* * *

"So where are we going again, Sora?" Kairi asked, walking leisurely beside the boy. Somewhere along the line, neither quite knew where, their race had slowed to a walk through the eternally twilit streets of Traverse Town.

"Merlin's house. He's a wizard who we've been collecting pages of a book for."

"And what's he gonna do with the pages?"

"I dunno, put them back in the book, I guess."

The conversation lulled into brief, but comfortable, silence.

"So are we gonna go back to Hollow Bastion and find Riku after this?" Kairi inquired.

Sora pulled to an abrupt stop.

"What? What's wrong?" Kairi asked, worriedly placing a hand on Sora's shoulder.

"Kairi, Riku's...Riku's gone."

"What?" Kairi exclaimed.

"I mean he's dead and it's my fault."

"But Sora-"

"I killed him, Kairi!" Sora's voice cracked. "I fought him and I—and he-" his voice fell to a whisper. "and how he's gone."

It was true, wasn't it? Sora had tried to put it out of his mind. To not think about it. To not let the fact that Riku was without-a-doubt gone truly register in his mind.

But here it was. Riku was dead, and Sora had killed him.

"Sora..." Kairi whispered, reaching an arm across his shoulders. "Sora, Riku's not dead. I saw him. He saved me and Donald and Goofy from Ansem."

"You...you what?" Sora asked, hope returning to his spirit.

"Just as Ansem was about to attack us, Riku suddenly appeared and held Ansem back long enough for us to escape. You know what that means? He's out there somewhere." she said encouragingly.

Sora grinned slightly and allowed his body to relax. "Riku never gives up, does he?"

"Nope, he doesn't."

"Then I guess we shouldn't either, huh?"

Kairi gave Sora a shoulder hug. "Don't worry, Sora, we'll find him."

"'Course we will!" Sora agreed, coming back around to his normal happiness. "We've always been a team, the three of us. Riku was the tough one-"

"-and you were the lazy one-" Kairi interrupted.

"Hey!"

Kairi shrugged. "It's the truth."

"Well, you've always been the-the-" Sora trailed off.

"Go on...?" Kairi grinned in expectancy.

"Uh, you've always been...the girl!" Sora finished.

Kairi paused. "I was kinda expecting more."

"Well, I, uh, can't think of anything else right now."

"Lucky me."

"Yeah! If my chest didn't hurt so much right now, I would've come up with a great comeback!" Sora replied.

"So it really hurts, huh?" Kairi asked, switching the conversation tone from comedic to serious.

Sora rubbed the back of his neck. "Kinda, I try not to think about it."

"Does that help?"

"Not really. Hey! We're here!"

In front of where they had stopped, a red door was crammed into the wall. A swirling painting of a fireball was etched into it's wood. Sora pushed through the door and into Merlin's study, Kairi following curiously behind him.

Sora felt comforted by the homey atmosphere of Merlin's house. A warm fire still burned, and every spare inch was still covered in books. Unsurprisingly, Merlin sat in his high-back, red chair. The old wizard was completely engrossed in a large tome, and hardly noticed Sora and Kairi's entrance.

Sora cleared his throat, causing Merlin to jump in his seat.

"Oh! Oh, it's you." Merlin smiled kindly and closed his book. "How good to see you again, young man, even if you insist on making your presence known in such a startling way." the sorcerer's deeply set eyes fell upon Kairi, who hardly noticed, due to her complete enthrallment with Merlin's house. Sora knew it was the books that held her attention. She had always been a big reader.

"So, I would hazard a guess this is the girl, then, Sora?" Merlin asked, a glint of amusement in his eye.

Kairi jerked away from her eager study. "Wait, say what?"

"Er, nothing." Sora said quickly. "So we've got some pages of your book here, Merlin..."

Delight entered Merlin's voice. "But come now, Sora! You haven't even introduced me to your lady-friend!"

"Kairi, this is Merlin. Merlin this is Kairi." Sora gestured respectively.

Kairi curtsied slightly at the introduction. "Nice to meet you."

"Now, we've got these pages-" Sora continued.

"No, wait, so what'd he mean by 'this is the girl'?" Kairi insistently asked.

"Uhhh..."

"Simply that he told me he was looking for one of his friends." Merlin said. "I can only suppose that was you."

Kairi seemed satisfied by this answer, and Sora sighed in relief. Thank goodness Merlin didn't go too far. He knew he should tell Kairi that he...liked her...but now was definitely not a good time. Plus, it wasn't like he'd be able to muster the words anyway. He'd do it later. Right. Of course.

"So I believe you were saying something about the pages for my book, m'boy?" Merlin intoned, relaxing deeply into his chair.

"Yeah" Sora replied, reaching deep into his pocket and pulling out five crumpled pieces of paper. "Right here."

"Oh my!" Merlin snatched the papers from Sora's and hurriedly flattened them out. "Do be careful, Sora! Oh, the poor creatures must be terribly discombobulated".

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Sora asked.

Merlin handed the straightened out pages back to Sora. "Why don't you place them back in the book and find out. It's over there on the table."

"Okay..." Sora took the pages back.

"May I...?" Kairi spoke up, voice quiet in awe, gesturing toward a book sitting atop a large pile of other reading materials.

Merlin chortled and waved his permission. "By all means do, young lady!"

"Thank you so much!" Kairi replied excitedly, hefting the book to her side.

Walking over to the table with his friend in tow, who had already opened her hardcover, Sora found a rather large book sitting on the wood surface. It's covering looked leathery and damaged, and he was unable to make out it's title. Unlocking the clip that tied the back cover to the front, Sora slowly lifted the book open to it's first few missing pages, and filled in the ripped out spots with his five pages.

"Merlin we're-" Sora's words slowed to a stop when he realized that he and Kairi were no longer in Merlin's study. They now stood in a wide clearing, surrounded by an extremely vibrant colored wood. The air was warm and comfortable, with the scent of pine and honey. Sora couldn't explain it, but everything seemed calm and soft. Even the grass beneath his feet felt different than any other grass. It was soft, almost like a bed. Or maybe more like moss.

Sora couldn't pinpoint when the scenery changed, he couldn't remember when it had stopped being Merlin's house and had become a beautiful forest. It just had not been there one second, and the next it was.

Sora nudged Kairi who was still enchanted with her book.

"Hm? What is it, Sora?" Kairi asked half-mindedly, eyes to the page.

"Look up, Kairi." Sora nudged her again and Kairi closed her book.

"What am I looking at-" Kairi stopped short when she, too, realized they were somewhere else. "What happened?"

"I dunno. I put the pages in the book and here we are."

"What's that over there?" Kairi asked, pointing toward a large, hollowed log that lay as the only other thing in the clearing. Sora was slightly surprised that Kairi took the sudden change so well, but then again, it wasn't like she hadn't been with him during his whole adventure. Sora turned his attention to the log and saw that a small, yellow bear-like creature sat on it. "Aw! He looks like a teddy bear! C'mon, Sora! Let's go see!" Kairi grabbed Sora by the wrist and dragged him, not unwillingly, toward the overturned log. As they walked closer, they heard the yellow bear talking to itself.

"Think, think, think..."

"Hi there!" Kairi interjected. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh nothing." the bear responded mournfully. "Just thinking of how to say goodbye to Pooh."

"Pooh?" Sora asked.

"Hm, yes?" the bear looked up as if his name had been called.

"Wait a second, you're Pooh?" Sora questioned.

"Yes, I'm Winnie the Pooh. And who are you?"

"I'm Sora."

"And I'm Kairi."

"Oh, hello, Sora and Kairi." the bear smiled. "have you come to say goodbye to Pooh, too?"

"Well no." Kairi replied. "Why would be do that? We've only just met!"

"Because everyone's gone away." Pooh said sadly.

"What do mean?" Sora asked, suddenly on guard. Perhaps the Heartless were involved?

"Well, we all lived here in the Hundred Acre Wood." Pooh began. "And we'd take walks together, or play Pooh Sticks, and every day, I'd eat some honey. Just one small smackeral would taste oh so very good right now." Pooh paused and his mind seemed to wander to thoughts of honey and smackerals. Sora and Kairi waited patiently, with traded looks of raised brows, until the yellow bear continued his story with a sigh. "But now, everyone is gone. All my friends, and my favorite Hunny Tree too. Must've gone away while I was napping...I think. So who knows? Maybe I shall end up going away somewhere as well." Pooh jumped down from the log. "But I wonder, how do I say goodbye to myself? Think, think, think..."

Kairi nudged Sora whilst Pooh seemed to be lost in thought. "What do you think?" she whispered.

"I think he thinks too much."

"Oh, my tumbly is getting rather rumbly!" Pooh suddenly announced, and wandered toward the forest.

"Should we follow him?" Kairi wondered.

"Definitely."

* * *

Kairi couldn't stop laughing. Pooh's unwavering dedication to honey had awoken the ire of a swarm of bees, who, as it seemed to Kairi, had chased the group across at least fifty of the Wood's hundred acres. Somewhere between acre forty-five and acre forty-six, the chase had become unbelievably funny for Sora, who had started to chuckle. By the time the bees gave up the hunt, all three had given in to peals of laughter. When they had finally collapsed to the ground, Kairi had asked, through the snorts and the hiccups, what had amused Sora so much.

Sora had nearly broken out in renewed laughter as he remembered.

"I guess it was-" -hiccup- "when you almost fell trying to swat that bee with your huge book—OW!"

* * *

Kairi wiped a dirt-stained hand across her sweaty forehead. Sighing, she realized she had succeeded in only dirtying her face even more. She and Sora had been enlisted by one of Pooh's friends, Rabbit, to help recover any surviving vegetables after a happy-go-lucky, bouncing-obsessed creature named Tigger had used the former's garden as a practice ground.

When she caught sight of Sora, Kairi couldn't help but smile. The boy was covered head-to-toe in dirt, as if he bathed in the stuff regularly. She didn't even bother to try and figure out how Sora had managed to get that dirty, but she did decide they were taking a bath in a stream when this was all over. It was hard to comprehend how this carefree boy covered in mud had willingly sacrificed himself to save the world not twenty-four hours ago.

But this was Sora, she remembered, and it all made sense again.

"Um, Sora, can I ask a question?" Kairi bit her lip.

Sora brushed his muddy hands on his equally muddy shirt, accomplishing nothing but spreading the dirt around. He smiled his lop-sided smile. "You just did."

Kairi gathered some dirt together and packed it into a tight ball. She heaved it at Sora. "Hate you. You know what I mean."

Sora grinned. "So, question?"

"Why did you...sacrifice yourself at Hollow Bastion?"

Sora fell quiet as his stained face turned thoughtful and introspective. His eyes fell down to the potato he was digging up.

Kairi noticed and spoke up frantically. "I understand if you don't want to talk about-"

"I guess it was because it was the only way to wake you up, Kairi." Sora interrupted and quickly went back to digging.

Kairi paused. To hear Sora say it...Kairi didn't know how to describe the feeling. Her heart seemed to collapse in on itself, causing a feeling of thrilled lightness to erupt in her chest. He had really done it for her. For her. Feelings of unworthiness crept into her mind, but they were quickly dismissed by the fact that Sora had apparently found her worth enough to sacrifice his life for her's. From that thought, her mind followed a million different paths and implications. She nervously ran a hand through her hair, unworried about the muddy streaks it would leave behind.

And although no one could notice through the dirt, Kairi blushed and smiled timidly.

"Thank you, Sora."

* * *

After Kairi has forced him to take a bath in the river, and he had started(and won) a splash fight, Sora had found her on a swing atop a hill. A large tree, from which the swing hung, covered the hill with an orange and red crown. He stood at a distance, watching her swing back and forth, a small grin visible on her face. She seemed to be enjoying herself a lot. She was so...cute.

Cute? What? This was Kairi! She wasn't cute! She was...Kairi.

Sora sighed and ran a hand through his hair, sending droplets of water into the air. He really did love Kairi, didn't he? The discovery still astounded him. When had it happened?

On the rebound of one her swings, Kairi scooped one of Pooh's friends,(a small, pink, timid creature named Piglet) and placed him in her lap, despite his protests. She giggled as the tiny creature gripped onto her shirt tightly. After a few moments, Piglet seemed to loosen his grip and laughed a little. Kairi's smile grew wider.

So cute...

"Ahhhh..." Sora moaned and leaned against a tree. He felt almost sick. But it wasn't...a bad kind of sick. Sora moaned again. He couldn't even explain it to itself. It was just...there. Plain as the fact that his hair spiked up every morning of it's own accord; no one could explain it, least of all him. He loved Kairi.

Sora paused.

What did that even mean?

Was love just a feeling? Was it a choice? Had he one day decided to just love Kairi? Or had it just...happened? And what would happen next? He felt a little weird interacting with Kairi now, knowing what he knew about his feelings. Would it affect their friendship? That was the last thing Sora wanted.

The shade of the trees was inviting and Sora decided to sit and think under it for awwhile watching Kairi on the swing. Why was that so interesting, anyway! It was Kairi on a swing. Nothing special happening there.

Sora sighed.

But it definitely was special. Argh!  
Why was he even thinking so much about this? When was the last time he had thought this much about anything?

That was when it came to Sora. The unknown. The thrill. The wonder. The worry. The feelings—love was another adventure ,wasn't it? One day, Sora decided, he would explore it when the Heartless and Ansem didn't cause problems anymore. And when he had worked up the courage to talk to Kairi about it, of course. Why was it that that one simple thing seemed harder to him than going off to fight Ansem to the death? What sense did that make?

It was probably because Kairi was just so cute when he looked at her.

Sora groaned and collapsed to the ground, but he couldn't wipe the grin off his face.

* * *

By the time the moon rose in the sky, Sora and Kairi had traveled all throughout the Hundred-Acre Wood and helped Pooh in finding all of his lost friends. In addition to Piglet, Tigger and Rabbit, there was now Kanga and Roo, a worried mother and a son who followed in Tigger's bouncing footsteps. There was also the ground-tunneling Gopher, the wise Owl, and the ever-depressed Eeyore. Now the entire group lay haphazardly across the side of the Swing Hill, watching the moon fully bloom.

"I-I-I was so afraid when I'd lost you, Pooh." Piglet stuttered quietly.

"Aw, Pigglelet," Tigger placed a paw on Piglet's head. "You just gotta be brave like Tigger's are."

"R-really?"

"Absuh-tuteh-lutely! Why, whadda you think would happen if a Tigger got scared?"

"W-what?"

"Why, the whole world would fall apart! The sun would stop shining, the grasses would stop growing and bees would stop buzzing! That's why Tigger's gotta be brave!"

Scared by the very thought, Piglet scurried over to sit beside Pooh.

Tigger shrugged and turned back to look at the night sky. "You see, little Pigglelet, you gotta be brave when the world depends on ya."

Everything fell to quiet for moment.

"A light at the end of the tunnel..." Kairi said softly, to no one in particular

"Oh, your Grandma's story, right?" Sora noted

Kairi looked at him, startled. "How did you-Oh, that's right. We were together. I showed you that."

"It's funny, Kairi, I looked everywhere for you, but you were with me all along." Sora smiled at the irony of it all. "We're both finally together, Kairi. Now it's time to find Riku."

"You think it'll ever be the same between us three?" Kairi spoke sadly. "Riku's lost his-"

Sora interrupted, unwilling to hear the negatives. "When I turned into a Heartless, you saved me. I was lost in the darkness and I couldn't find my way. I started to forget things-my friends, who I was. The darkness almost swallowed me." his eyes focused on Kairi's. "But then, I heard a voice—your voice. You brought me back."

"I couldn't believe that you were gone, Sora. I just couldn't...accept that. Not after everything you went through." Kairi said quietly.

"That's it!" Sora pointed out. "Our hearts are connected and the light from your heart broke through the darkness. I saw that light. I think that's what saved me. I know now that, no matter how deep the darkness, a light shines somewhere." Sora grinned and looked back into space. "_That's _how I know we can find and save Riku. No matter where he is, we'll find a way to reach him."

"Well, let's go!" Kairi sat up.

"Wait! You can't come with me!" Sora blurted out. Why had he said that? _Of course _he wanted Kairi to come with him!

"What?" Kairi spun to glare at him. "Why not?"

"Because...because..." Sora searched his mind for a reason. What had possessed him to say that? "Because it'd be way too dangerous!"

"Oh, come on, Sora!" Kairi replied, a hint of anger in her voice. "You made it this far by sticking with your friends! You, me and Riku...a team, remember?"

Sora felt his resolve slipping. She had a point, but he had to be strong. As much as he wanted Kairi to come with him, she only had slight fighting abilities and the danger she would be in was unacceptable.

"Kairi, even if we're apart, we're not alone anymore. Right? We're connected."

"I can't even help?" Kairi asked sadly.

"You'd, ah, kinda be in my way..." Sora chuckled.

"What?"

"I, uh, mean that I'd kinda, uh, be worried about you...and...stuff..." Sora amended.

"That's sweet of you, Sora." Kairi giggled, and Sora's heart melted. "But I'm still going."

"So there's nothing I can do, huh?" Sora sighed resignedly.

"Nope." Kairi shook her head. "Nothing at all. Nada."

"Not even...this?" Sora athletically pounced from his position and tackled Kairi to ground. She shrieked and tumbled, but was quick to fight back. Soon, Sora and Kairi were wrestling in a no-holds barred match, with Tigger and Roo quickly joining in. Eventually, Sora had to resort to the final option of tickling Kairi to subdue her. It always worked, and this time was no exception. Their battle died out, ending up with Kairi's head using Sora's stomach as a pillow, and Roo using Kairi's stomach as a bed.

And Tigger continued to wrestle with himself, as most Tiggers are wont to do.

"Sora...take this..." Kairi dropped something small onto Sora's chest. He picked it up, examining it in the dark, evening light. It was a thessalia shell charm. Five yellow and pink shells arranged in a star shape, each tied to another. They were connected in the middle by a small metal crown, similar to Sora's necklace. The topmost shell, Sora noticed, had a small, smiley face drawn on it, with three or four spikes of brown hair drawn in above the dotted eyes.

"It's my lucky charm." Kairi nudged him gently. "So be sure to bring it back to me."

"Don't worry, I will." Sora replied and gripped the charm tightly, silently recognizing Kairi's unspoken agreement to stay behind.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Don't ever forget, wherever you go, I'm always with you." Kairi whispered.

Suddenly, Sora found Kairi's hand in his. She didn't seem to acknowledge the movement, which was _glaringly_ acknowledged by Sora, opting instead to keep her slightly red face trained on the moon above Not knowing what else to do, Sora simply held her hand back and watched the moon shine through the light sheen of clouds.

* * *

_A small break from the intensity of the past two chapters. Unfortunately(or fortunately? o.O)it' s gonna be ramping back up soon. We're reaching the end!  
__Again, I apologize for taking sooooo long!  
__I suppose you could look at it as though I took the summer off?  
__~Mars_


	20. Into the Dark Depths

_Wow. Am I really alive? Yes, apparently._

_No, I did not buy Kingdom Hearts over the summer...and winter...and HOLY CRAP IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME! :O_

_

* * *

_

_**Chapter XX: Into the Dark Depths**_

_Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try._

_~Unknown_

The next day, Sora had woken to find that he and Kairi were no longer on the hill in the 100 Acre Wood, but instead in two of Merlin's huge chairs, with double piping hot cups of tea in front of them. When he had groggily opened his eyes, Sora had found Merlin smiling a full, insidious grin, as if he was overjoyed by a secret he wasn't telling. Kairi had woken a few seconds before Sora and was already reaching for her tea, thrilled at the prospect of her favorite drink. She had eagerly taken a sip, but pursed her lips at the heat. That had soon passed however when a look of shock covered her face. She had asked Merlin how knew her that favorite kind was Earl Grey. Merlin's grin had just widened, his thick eyebrows now eclipsing his eyes.

Sora, on the other hand, had taken the tea just to be polite, sufficing simply to swirl it around with his spoon. When they had finished pleasant conversation with Merlin, and Kairi had had a second cup of tea, they made their way back to Cid's, where the grizzled mechanic had already installed the new Navi-Gummi into the ship.

Sora, Donald and Goofy had left that evening, so that they could travel through the night and reach Hollow Bastion by the morning. It was a bittersweet goodbye, with Sora promising to see Kairi again, and Kairi smiling a sad farewell. After some claps on the back, handshakes, and goodbye hugs, Sora and friends were off to Hollow Bastion, and hopefully Riku.

* * *

Sora looked quietly up at the two, large oaken doors that led into Hollow Bastion's Entrance Hall. So much had happened inside this Castle before...so many memories, both painful and sweet. Sora let those thoughts invade his mind for only a moment before shrugging and throwing open the doors.

Inside, a dark sea of Heartless surrounded a single being standing in their midst: Beast. Sora remembered the dangerous creature from his first visit to the Castle. Beast was fighting off hoards of Heartless, sending them flying with his massive claws, ripping them from his back, stomping them into the ground with her large paws.

"Who's that?" Donald asked.

"That's Beast" Sora replied. "He helped me before."

"Well, let's help him now!" Goofy cried and charged into the swarm of Heartless, plowing a path through them with his shield. Donald called up a mighty Fire spell, quacking in pleasure as Heartless burst into flames. Sora called forth his new Keyblade, Oathkeeper, that he had made with Kairi's charm as the chain. An ornate, wing-designed hilt stretched around his hand and into two white blades that connected at the end to a multicolored, three pronged edge. It was serene, and a light among the Heartless. Jumping into the fray, Sora fought his way until he was standing beside Beast.

"You...?" Beast said, surprised.

Sora grinned and nodded. "Yup. Now let's take care of these Heartless!"

One by one, the four fighters cleared all the small Heartless from the room, until no more dared approach, most likely waiting for a time when their prey was more unguarded.

"So did you find Belle?" Sora asked, remembering the woman Beast had come looking for.

Beast grunted and shook his mane of hair. "She's in the top of the Castle, but these accursed Heartless have kept me from getting to her."

"Gawrsh, is she there against her will?" Goofy asked.

Beast shook his head. "No. She and other Princesses are there for a reason. I know it."

"What could it be..." Donald wondered, absently tapping his staff on the ground.

"Only one way to find out!"Sora hefted the Keyblade against his shoulder and walked off toward the library, planning to travel up the Castle the same way he had before. As the four walked silently through the library, Sora tried not to think about why piles of books, knocked off their shelves, lay in heaps on the floor, and why some of them had blood splattered on them.

Instead, he thought about Kairi and how she loved to read. He remembered the time when the Morningheath library had finally asked her to be their selectwoman for books to stock, after years of her coming to them to request new books herself. Sora didn't reciprocate the feelings toward reading that Kairi had. It bored him quickly. Why read about stuff when you could do it yourself?

Sora mentally kicked himself. Thinking of Kairi reminded Sora that he had never told her about the vision of her in Hollow Bastion, that this world was where she had originally come from-but, then again, did he really want to tell her this dead and dreary world was her home? It's just as well, he figured. He'd tell her eventually.

* * *

After a great deal of walking, mostly in silent reverence(a rare for Sora) for Hollow Bastion and what had happened there, the group reached the Castle Chapel, still filled with decimated scenery, evidence of Sora's battle with the dead witch Maleficent. Among the pockmarked landscape, though, stood five woman in extravagant dresses, similar to the one Kairi had been wearing in the glass...box. These must be the other Princesses of Heart, whom, Sora had pieced together, had something to do with the Final Keyhole—that's what Ansem and Maleficent had wanted them for. Two of them, Sora recognized, and felt a sigh of relief knowing they were okay—Alice from Wonderland and Jasmine from Agrabah. However, there were also two blonde women, in white and blue dresses, and one more woman, dressed in gold with dark brown hair and large caramel eyes, who was walking slowly towards Beast, a certain awe in her eyes.

"You're...here?"

Beast nodded gruffly. "Yes. I came for you."

"For me?" the girl responded, joy evident in her voice, and moved closer to Beast.

"Yes." Beast held up a paw hesitantly. Holding her at length. "But only to take you back to my Castle. The deal with your father still applies."

The girl, who Sora assumed was Belle, stopped at Beast's paw. Sora expected her to be unhappy, but she just sighed and smiled slightly. "If you say so. I'm touched you came, though..." Belle's eyes fell upon a large gash on Beast's arm from the Heartless. "Oh, you're hurt!" she exclaimed and rushed forward to look over his wound.

Beast stepped back for a moment before realizing it wasn't up to him whether Belle approached or not. As she examined him, he mumbled something unintelligible.

"Oh, Sora, was it? From the Queen's courtroom?" Alice's question caught Sora's attention. "Oh, it _is _so very good to see you again!"

Sora frowned. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you there..."

"Oh, it's quite alright. As you can plainly see, I'm exactly where I should be right now."

After Jasmine echoed similar sentiments to Sora, although peppered with queries into Aladdin's wellbeing, the two other Princesses spoke.

"We've been waiting for you, Keyblade Master." the blonde Princess in white said regally.

"Sora, this is Cinderella." Alice introduced.

"Where's Ansem?" Sora asked.

"Gone." Cinderella answered.

"He disappeared into the same darkness he came out of." the blonde in blue said.

"And that is Aurora," Alice said finally. "And over there, talking with Beast, is Belle."

"Though Ansem is gone, the flood of darkness hasn't stopped." Cinderella looked back to the stairs at the end of the Castle Chapel that led to the Grand Hall. "We're working together to hold it back."

Aurora shuddered. "I can't forget the look on his face...as the darkness from the Keyhole engulfed him...he was...smiling."

Suddenly, a high-pitched, soft voice called from the top of the stairs, tiredly. "Is that the Keyblade Master? Please, hurry! The darkness is pouring from the Keyhole!"

Sora looked up to see the sixth Princess, pale skin with dark hair plastered across her sweat-covered face. She hobbled and pitched terribly at the top of the stairs.

"Snow White!" Jasmine exclaimed and dashed up the stairs to support her fellow Princess and help her down.

"We each take turns holding back the darkness in that room." Aurora explained, as Jasmine lay Snow White on the ground and tended to her.

"It's all we can do to hold it back!" Alice blurted out.

"-and I don't even know how long we can manage even that." Jasmine said from her place looking over Snow White.

"Alright," Sora hefted the Keyblade, and headed toward the stairs."We're on our way."

"We're counting on you, Keyblade Master." Cinderella called after him. "In the meantime, we'll do what we can, too."

Sora nodded and, with Donald and Goofy by his side and Beast hanging back to protect the Princess' from any stray Heartless, he entered the atrium to the Grand Hall.

A chill ran down Sora's spine as the Hall entered his vision. He remembered it all too well—the rugs, the draperies, the stairs, the caskets. Everything. He wished he could forget it. The only difference between this room and his memory of it was the darkness that now crept along the floor like a fog. It was everywhere—waterfalling from the upper platform, swirling on the lower floors, pooling in the indentations. The darkness crept along the floor like a monster stalking it's prey—silent and deadly.

The three friends moved slowly through the darkness and up the stairs to the upper platform, where the giant mechanical Keyhole hummed loudly and occasionally crackled.

"To think Maleficent and that Ansem feller did all of that just for this pile of nuts and bolts..." Goofy said.

Sora nodded and, pointing the Keyblade at the giant Keyhole, locked it with a quiet click, trying to avoid looking at the damaged pile of pipes and wires where Not-Riku had died. As the locking commenced, the swirling colors within the heart shaped Keyhole muted out to nothing, showing the machinery behind it, and the hum died away.

Without a word, Sora turned and started to leave, eager to be rid of the Grand Hall. But as he turned, he was faced with the sight of an overturned wooden casket, glass covering shattered, floor sprinkled with shards. That was where Kairi had laid. When she had been—while her heart was inside his. A sudden longing erupted in Sora's heart, and he wondered what stupidity had motivated him to leave Kairi behind. He had convinced her to stay. Why? Why hadn't he brought her along? She could have handled herself, easy! What had he been thinking? As he stared down the empty casket, Sora wanted nothing more than to just see Kairi—to feel her touch on his shoulder, anything. Anything to be sure that she was still alive and breathing.

"Sora? You okay?" Donald asked, placing a concerned hand on Sora's knee.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine." Sora looked down at Donald and smiled, embarrassed. "Just wondering why I left Kairi behind is all."

"Aw, Sora, I know ya miss her!" Goofy stepped up beside him. "But you'were just tryin' to protect her!"

"And think about it this way:" Donald said as he turned to walk away. "The sooner we get done here and take care of Ansem, the sooner you can get back to her."

Sora's smile widened. "You're right! Let's get moving then!"

"I think the first thing we'll do with this place is cement it all over." came a recognizable, young female voice from below, just out of Sora's view.

"But Yuffie, you'd lose such beauty! Perhaps we should just cover the Keyhole with cement? It's caused enough problems for a lifetime." another, older, female voice replied.

Yuffie? The guys from Traverse Town were here? Sora ran to edge of the platform and, nearly falling off, leaned as far forward as he could to see who was below. The darkness was dissipating from the floor by this point, and Sora could clearly see three people: Leon, Yuffie and Aerith!

"Hey!" Sora yelled to his friends.

"Whoza-?" Yuffie exclaimed, jumping from where she had been poking around behind a statue. "Hey! It's Sora!"

Sora ran down the curving staircase to meet his friends at the bottom. "What are you guys doing here? And where's Kairi?"

"We came in Cid's ship." Aerith smiled kindly in greeting. Leon huffed a 'hey'.

"Yeah, that crazy man insisted on making the landing bay of the Castle usable before anything else. As for Kairi-" Yuffie smiled knowingly at Sora. "Merlin still had a few more things to pack up before coming. He'll be arriving later with Tifa, Kairi, Mini-Tifa-"

"Marlene." Aerith interrupted.

"-and Vince and Cloud. That is, if Merlin can even find the last two." Yuffie tut-tutted with her finger. "They keep getting themselves lost.

"This place is in worse shape than I feared." Leon said as he methodically studied the room. "It used to be so peaceful, long before the Heartless came."

"Don't worry! If it's true that Ansem has been helping the Heartless take all the worlds, and you defeat Ansem, all the worlds should be restored to normal" Aerith's eyes twinkled. "Including your Island!"

"Really?" Sora replied, hope springing forth in his heart at the idea of feeling Kinshou's sand between his toes again.

Aerith nodded.

"But, it also means goodbye." Leon said slowly. "Once the worlds are restored, they should all be separate again."

"Everyone will go back to where they came from." Aerith continued.

Sora shrugged. "But then I'll just visit your guys with the Gummi Ship!"

"It's not that simple, unfortunately." Leon replied.

"Before all this, you didn't know about other worlds, right?" Yuffie asked.

"Right."

"That's because every world was isolated. Connected by the same sky, but impassable walls stood between them." Aerith explained.

"The Heartless and Ansem destroyed those walls. So if the worlds return, so will the walls." Yuffie added.

"Which means the Gummi Ship will be useless?" Goofy asked.

"So you're saying we'll never...?" Sora dropped off his question hesitantly, letting it's lack speak volumes in the silence of the Grand Hall.

"We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other." Leon said finally.

"No matter where we are, our hearts will bring us together again." Aerith said, her perpetual smile still warm and motherly.

"Besides," Yuffie prodded Sora in the chest, "I couldn't forget you even if I wanted too!"

"Sora, good luck." Leon nodded firmly and walked toward the mechanical Keyhole.

"Well, if we're done with all the mushy-gushy stuff...I'm off to to explore!" Yuffie yelled a goodbye as she disappeared through the great doors, pushing through the six Princesses who entered past her.

"Thank you, Sora. I think the darkness has begun to weaken." Alice smiled.

"But I can feel an even more powerful darkness growing somewhere far away." Aurora noted, looking off into an invisible distance.

"It's the Heart of Darkness." Cinderella said. "It must be where Ansem went."

"Then...we'll take the Gummi Ship and deal with both Ansem and the Heartless!" Sora exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Donald and Goofy echoed.

Belle smiled proudly. "A worthy answer, Sora."

"Keyblade Master, your courage can bring back our worlds to their original state." Snow White said.

Hope again swelled within Sora's heart. "Kairi will be back on the Islands?"

"Most certainly, and you should be, too." Cinderella replied.

Sora paused. As much as he wanted nothing more than to go back home and lay on the beach with Kairi, he knew there were so many things left undone. "I can't go home...not until I find Riku and the King."

* * *

Darkness.

Darkness.

Nothing but darkness.

Riku ran along through the nothingness of the darkness, running on nothing, feeling nothing. Just a nothing-filled darkness.

"Sora...Kairi...I'm...sorry..." and still he ran. He had no idea where to, just knowing that he was running to _something_ gave Riku hope.

But.

What if he was running to nothing at all?

Riku collapsed and lay on the dark nothing. "Is this...the world of death?" he whispered aloud, and felt a growing warmth in his chest that threatened to overwhelm him. He fought it down again, like he had several times before over the last few...days? Weeks? Time was meaningless here. "I can't disappear yet..." Riku swallowed back the warmth, not allowing it to take him yet. "Not until I've met Sora and Kairi one more time..."

Suddenly, Riku heard a high-pitched voice in the darkness.

"Riku? Can you hear me?" The voice asked worriedly. "I'll be there soon."

"Who's there?" Riku yelled out, but not scared. In fact, the voice, even as mysterious as it was, comforted Riku. At least he wasn't alone here in this nothingness.

"I've found the Keyblade for this side." The voice spoke again. "I've been talking to you all along, but your darkness made it hard for you to hear me."

"I don't know who you are...but what's happened to me?" Riku asked the darkness.

"Well, you heart beat the darkness." the voice replied. "But you couldn't take your body back, so your heart was left behind in this dark side where all the stolen hearts go."

Riku felt baffled by all this, but kept a stoic exterior. "So what should I do?

"Welp, the Door to Darkness if gonna appear soon, I think. Now, we can't pass it, but we could close it. We just need two Keys and two hearts." the voice turned thoughtful. "Maybe that's why you're here, too. Like me. We've both got a job to do."

Riku snorted. Even here, in the darkness, he still had something to do. "You know everything, don't you?" Riku asked. "If that's so, I'd like you to tell me one more thing...are Sora and Kairi safe?"

The voice was silent for a moment, and Riku wondered if it had left.

"Here, you should be able to feel their hearts. How you see your friends...welp, I guess that depends on your own heart."

Riku nodded and stilled. He had caused so much pain for Sora and Kairi...he had to know that they had somehow managed to survive it. He felt Kairi's heart first—bright, but in a quiet, unassuming way. She was relaxed—and safe. Close behind, he felt Sora's—just as bright as Kairi's, but extravagant and extreme, hope bursting out at every angle.

Mmmhm. Sora was definitely okay.

Riku sucked air in through his teeth, sighed, and nodded. That was good enough for him.

* * *

_**The Report of Ansem: Studies into the Heart  
**__**Part Two**_

_It is my duty to expose what this darkness really is. I shall conduct the following experiments:_

_~Extract darkness from a person's heart_

_~Cultivate darkness in a pure heart_

_~Both suppress and amplify the darkness within._

_The experiments caused the test subjects' hearts to collapse, including those of the most stalwart. How fragile our hearts are! My treatments produced no sign of recovery. I confined those who had completely lost their hearts beneath the castle. Far beneath it._

_Some time later, I went below and was greeted by the strangest sight. Creatures that seemed to be born of darkness...What are they? Are they truly sentient beings? Could they be the shadows of those who lost their hearts in my experiments?_

_**~Ansem**_

_**The Report of Ansem: Studies into the Heart  
**__**Part Four**_

_The Heartless appear in groups, and are multiplying rapidly. I've provided them both living and non-living samples. They've responded only to the living. They seem to multiply after absorbing something from the living creatures. Their prey vanishes without a trace._

_I believe the Heartless are taking hearts. They are born from those who've lost their hearts, and thrive on hearts seized from others. The Hearts taken by the Heartless become Heartless themselves. Though I lack proof, I am confident in this hypothesis._

_I must also study their behavioral principles. Though they lack emotions, they do seem to have some intelligence. How to communicate with them? It's just occurred to me: Could they be the darkness in people's hearts?_

_**~Ansem**_

_**The Report of Ansem: Studies into the Heart  
**__**Part Six**_

_A massive core of energy lay beyond the door sought by the Heartless. It may well be the ultimate goal of all Heartless. But what is that energy? I have devised a hypothesis, based upon my observation of the Heartless._

_The Heartless feed on others' hearts, and they yearn for that energy core. That thing beyond the door must be a heart, too—the heart of this world. There is no proof, but, having felt that immense energy and seen what it can do, I am certain that was the heart of this world._

_The Heartless are trying to take hearts not only from all living creatures, but from the world itself. But what do they mean to do with the Heart of the World?_

_**~Ansem**_

_**The Report of Ansem: Studies into the Heart  
**__**Part Ten**_

_Just as people have hearts, so do worlds. The same can be said of the stars in the night sky. And deep within each world lies a door to its heart. The Heartless desire those hearts. Born out of the darkness in people's hearts, they seek to return to a greater heart._

_Yes, that's it. The Heartless come from people's hearts, as does the darkness. Is the core of the world's heart the world of the Heartless? I will pursue the answer there, and become all-knowing._

_My path is set. I shall seek out the wielder of the Keyblade, and the Princesses. My body is too frail for such a journey, but I must do this. I will cast it off and plunge into the depths of darkness._

_**~Ansem.**_

_**

* * *

**_

_This is where chapters are gonna start to get shorter and shorter. We're winding down to the finish, I'm afraid._

_Finally, with all these new KH games coming out, I want to take this time to remind you that this story and all my other soon-to-be-coming Kingdom Hearts stories take place in a canon BEFORE BBS. So any games that came out after Birth By Sleep(including Coded), does not occur in this timeline. Instead, other events(which will be revealed to you later)will be taking it's place._

_Good to be back._

_Here's to updating sooner than 7 months next time!(I hope to have this done before summer, so I can take the freedom of the summer to play through the second game for dialogue)_

_~Mars_


	21. The Final Reports

_A quicker update! :O_

_Marginally. _

* * *

_**Chapter XXI: The Final Reports  
**__Those who don't know history are destined to repeat.  
__~Edmund Burke_

Sora settled himself down ungraciously on the Gummi Ship's couch, having just dropped Alice off at Wonderland. Oddly enough, Alice had said that Wonderland was not her actual home, but that she could 'most certainly find her way from there'. When he had left Hollow Bastion, Sora had offered to take any of the Princesses home who still had worlds to return to. Sadly, only two, Alice and Jasmine, were able to say that was the case.

With an hour or two still to go until they reached Agrabah, Sora stretched in place and swiped the small stack of papers from the coffee table beside the couch. The papers were all the collected pages of the Ansem Reports, four of which had been found and given to him by Aerith on his way out of Hollow Bastion. Sora figured now was as good a time as any to give them a look-over.

As he read, Sora began to see an picture of this man called Ansem—who had been driven insane by the darkness and by his thirst for knowledge. Even with the small gaps in the reports, it seemed to Sora that Ansem had once been a good, normal scientist guy. Unfortunately, the reports painted an image of a growing madman, who started sane, but slowly devolved until his reports became a jumble of obsessive ramblings about finding the darkness and the Heartless.

Feeling like the reports oozed this growing darkness into his mind, Sora threw them back on the table, letting them spread across it. To think that this one, insane man had caused so much pain and misery. Everything came back to this Ansem. Sora remembered his voice—his smile—and shivered involuntarily. The man had been pure evil, completely saturated in the stuff. Darkness dripped off of Ansem like sweat, even when he was possessing Riku's body. Sora didn't relish the thought of seeing Ansem again, but he knew that he would have to face that monster.

"Sora!" Donald's rough voice broke out over the loudspeaker.

"What is it, Donald?" Sora replied, sitting up, noticing Donald's slight anxiety.

"We just got a massive energy reading from Agrabah. We're increasing our speed. Something's happening there."

* * *

When they reached Agrabah, the group of four hurriedly rushed to Aladdin's hovel, Donald and Goofy covered in cloaks to protect their alien identities. All appeared normal in Agrabah, it bustled and moved with a life of its own—no reason appeared as to the source of the energy reading. When the group reached Aladdin's house, they found the young man reclining in the large opening in his wall, staring out over the busy city. It had a magnificent view, allowing a great deal of the city to been seen. Sora, Donald and Goofy stood quietly behind as Jasmine approached Aladdin, who hadn't yet noticed his guests.

When Jasmine was within two arm's lengths of Aladdin, the young man leapt up and pulled out his scimitar, which had apparently had been hidden behind him.

"Ah, gentlemen, you've found me aga—Jasmine!" Aladdin exclaimed, obviously having been expecting the authorities. "You're-you're-" he took a step forward, but flinched and pulled back. "It's a relief to see you alive, Princess-"

Jasmine frowned and shook her head knowingly. "Oh, Aladdin..."

Aladdin looked over Jasmine's shoulder. "Sora! Thanks for-" but before he could finish, Jasmine had dove at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Aladdin's face froze for a moment, before it softened and he laughed quietly, a smile breaking over his face. He hugged her back.

Sora traded looks of a job-well-done with Donald and Goofy—right before Agrabah exploded.

Through the window, in the city below, the ground shook and erupted—dust billowing out into the air. People screamed. The building shook. The dust continued to blow.

"What...what happened?" Jasmine cried, looking out over her city.

Sora scanned the gray and brown cloud intently, hoping to catch the earliest glimpse of what had happened. As the cloud thinned, he caught sight of what stood behind it—a massive Heartless, as tall as the walls outside of the Palace, taller even. This Heartless was the color of the tanned sand, with six giant arms—two of them holding twin curved Shotel blades in their sharp talons. Its body was round and armored—resembling a beetle. It's head was quite similar, as well, to a beetle, with a round top and two pairs of small teeth and beady dark eyes. It stood on two similarily armored legs, connected to the upper body by what looked like a thick, black backbone. It roared and took a step out of the dark crater it had formed when it had burst from the ground.

"Quick! Aladdin, get Jasmine to the Palace!" Donald demanded.

"But, I can help you guys!" Aladdin replied. "I can-"

"You just got Jasmine back," Goofy insisted and smiled. "Don't wantcha to lose her again, do we?"

"If only Genie hadn't gone on vacation..." Aladdin nodded remorsefully, and he and Jasmine exited the room hurriedly.

Sora nodded to Donald and Goofy, who nodded back, and the three leapt through the large hole in the wall, and onto a small roof below. From there, they hopped from roof to roof, closing in on the giant Heartless. Donald cast a thunder spell, which shot down into the giant heartless from above in large zig-zags of lightning. The creature roared, and turned its attention to Donald.

"Donald!" Sora yelled, exasperatedly.

"Oops," Donald shrugged. "Guess we'll have to do it the hard way."

Sora sighed, shrugged, and jumped to an adjacent roof just as the Heartless' Shotel blades crashed down onto the house they were currently on, cleaving it in two.

Sora slid to a stop at the edge of the last house before the crater, and stared up at the monstrous beast. It was much larger now that he was closer, he could hear the way its giant chitin armor clinked together. He noticed that Goofy and Donald had circled around to other roofs around the crater, Donald still casting magic, and Goofy climbing down to attack the monster's feet. The Heartless pulled up its blade and took a stab towards Sora, who again dodged to the the roof nearest Donald—and broke into a run toward the duck mage. He heard the crash of a blade piercing through the roof behind him. Sora reached Donald just as the creature's other blade plunged down toward the magician.

Sora leapt and slid next to Donald and cast a Reflect spell, throwing up the half-sphere shield around them. The blade hit the shield and the tip pierced the golden shell. Sora shook with the effort of holding the shield up. It felt like it was about to collapse, when Donald, too, cast the same spell. A second shield appeared inside the first, just as the Heartless pushed extra force behind his blade—shattering the curved Shotel into pieces. With its balance thrown, the monster stumbled forward toward the building where Sora and Donald stood. Like before, Donald and Sora leapt out of the way as the creature crashed into the house, demolishing it entirely.

As it stood back onto its feet, Sora jumped onto its smooth back, attempting to drive the Oathkeeper into it to assure a point of balance. The blade simply glanced off the Heartless' smooth shell and Sora stumbled and started to slide. Fortunately, Goofy's gloved hand reached out and grabbed Sora, pulling him up onto the open spot between the Heartless' hunchbacked head and shelled back.

"How'd you get up here?" Sora asked over the sound of the monster standing back up.

"I climbed up when he wasn't looking." Goofy grinned. "I've been smashing his head for awhile now."

Sora high-fived Goofy and pointed his Oathkeeper at the underneck of the beast.

"Fira!" he yelled.

A burst of fire erupted from his the tip of his Keyblade and connected with the soft darkness on the underside of the Heartless' head. The fire caught and spread across its lower face. It screamed through the flames and grabbed Goofy and Sora with its upper pair of hands, ripping them off its back. Sora caught a glimpse of its charred, black face before it threw them unceremoniously to the dirt. Its screaming and clawing at its face bought Sora and Goofy enough time to get out from its precarious underfoot and onto the relative safety of the rooftops again. From there, Sora watched as the monster calmed and raised the four of its arms that hadn't held any weapons. It began to jerk those arms around in some sort of motion, like it was calling upon something. Sora looked in the distance that it was facing and saw it coming over the horizon—a dark, thick sandstorm. In seconds, it swarmed over Agrabah, filling every nook and cranny and buffeting Sora. He had to stab the Keyblade into the house below him to hold on, and he felt Donald and what was probably Goofy hanging onto his legs as the winds—literally powerful enough to lift them up—pulled them into its inner maw. The sand was so sharp; Sora felt it slashing his face with stinging, minute cuts. He didn't dare open his mouth, let alone his eyes. The tips of his fingers, above his fingerless gloves, were, too, being slashed by the sharp rocks of the sandstorm and were ready to release their hold on the Oathkeeper.

It was then that an a powerful, silver wind from the opposite direction blew in and battled with the desert Heartless' dark sandstorm. Sora couldn't watch, but he felt the differing winds dueling with each other—each trying to gain the others' ground.

Finally, Sora felt the sand clear enough that he thought it was safe to open his eyes. When he did, he saw an intimidating scene.

There was a man, dressed in a long, black cloak, with the hood pulled up over his head, facing the Heartless monster. And this man looked the Heartless straight in the eye because this man was floating, his coat billowing around him from the lingering winds. With an opening flick of his wrist, six long, silver spears appeared around the Heartless in a circular pattern, spinning slowly. The Heartless glanced at them confusedly, just as the man clenched his fist down and the spears, spinning in a deadly trajectory, pierced the armor of the Heartless that the Keyblade had not been able to scratch. Six spears stabbed gracefully into their target from different angles, each with a loud 'ka-chunk'.

The Heartless didn't scream, it didn't shriek. It simply groaned and started to collapse into the sand beneath it. Sora, still hearing the screech of sand in his ear, saw this all in slow-motion.

The black coated-man turned in the air, and with a crumbling and dissolving monster as his background, calmly stated one word directly at Sora:

"Useless."

Before Sora could reply, or even really register what the man had just said, the Heartless' glowing heart dissipated into the air and the man disappeared into a pool of darkness; leaving behind a broken city and a lonely piece of paper stuck in the sand below.

* * *

Sora peered off the edge of the Clocktower, watching as its smooth walls gave way to the giant face, which in turn gave way back into the smooth wall that plummeted down into the foggy, sleeping city below. Sora, Donald and Goofy had gone back to Neverland when, after leaving Agrabah, another powerful energy reading had erupted at the Clocktower.

They had first made their way to Neverland proper: an island that floated in an endless sea. There, they had found Peter Pan's hideout underneath an old, gnarled tree. Peter was hesitant, and even a little hostile, to Donald asking about the energy burst, until Goofy had pointed out that it could spell trouble for Wendy. As soon as Peter heard that, he had no trouble getting some pixie dust from Tinkerbell and flying with the three to the Clocktower, where the energy emanation had originated

Curiously, as Sora had left Peter's hideout, a Keyhole had appeared in the old branches above it. Sora had, of course, locked it immediately—but it left him to wonder, as he stared down from the tower, what had been the Keyhole he had locked there so many days earlier?

Sora snorted at the realization that he had only been here days ago—it felt likes weeks.

With a shuddering tick, the tower's face clicked to midnight. Sora, still looking down the side of the tower, watched as a dark form emerged from the middle of the face. The shadowy form hung in the air for a moment, before shooting straight up at Sora, scaring him into tumbling backward against the tower's inner wall. The Heartless that floated before Sora was a simple one: an entirely black cloak, with drawn hood, that disappeared into dissipating darkness at its hems. Near the bottom of the cloak, the two sides were split apart, revealing nothing but the inside of the back of the cloak.

Frozen, eyes locked on the phantom Heartless, Sora could only watch as the creature raised its black, boney hands, resembling knives, and reached for the Keyblade Master.

"Sora!" Sora heard Goofy yell, as the brave knight crashed into the Heartless in midair and out of Sora's view.

Wasting no time, Sora took two steps forward and launched himself into the air. Allowing the pixie dust to catch him, Sora curved smoothly and headed toward where Goofy had pushed the Heartless reaper. Peter and Donald followed him closely behind.

Goofy was deftly blocking the Heartless' sharp slashes when Sora got close enough for a swing with Oathkeeper. The Heartless made no move to dodge it as the attack simply pushed his cloth robes out of the way, leaving no lasting damage. With Sora's weight hazardously off, the Phantom Heartless slashed at Sora's, only just missing as the Keyblade Master leaned back into a spin.

"It's cloth!" Donald said suddenly, "Which means...FIRE!"

Donald's expert cast of fire magic shot through the cold air with precision and lit the edge of the Phantom's cloak. The fire spread up it, slowly engulfing the Heartless. A shriek of unearthly tone came from the monster, causing everyone to cover their ears in pain. It was a sound unlike any other, seeming to reach many different decibels at once and causing the air itself to shimmer.

With a sudden spin and straightening, the Heartless put the raging fire out. Immediately, the Phantom struck at a magic-less Peter Pan with it's shriveled hands. Touching the boy on the forehead, a burst of dark magic shot through him and Peter spasmed and fell limp. With his happy thought coming only from his subconscious now, Peter began to drift slowly downward.

Swooping in, Goofy grabbed onto Peter and placed him safely on the ledge of the Clocktower.

"Goofy! You should stay there!" Sora yelled. "We need to use magic to beat it!"

Goofy nodded and took to making sure Peter was okay.

"This should be easy..." Sora grinned and called out a Fira spell. But the Heartless, wise to the idea of the fire magic, easily dodged the attack by falling low, before swooping back up in front of Sora. It reached out its knife-like fingers for Sora's face, but Donald called out a blizzard spell that hit the Heartless at the rim of its cloak, forming an ice chunk which weighed the Heartless heavily to one side. Sora quickly flew away from the off balance Phantom, and joined up with Donald.

"It's just gonna keep dodging our fires attacks." Sora observed. "And hitting it doesn't work. So how do we beat it?"

Donald hmmmmed as he watched the Heartless, still weighed to side, come closer. Suddenly an idea seemed to come to him. "What if we weigh it down enough with ice that it can't dodge the fire?"

Sora flew low and around the Phantom, just as it got into striking distance of him. "Let's do it!"

Donald nodded and called out several blizzard spells in a row, each hitting their mark on the Phantom Heartless. From behind the Heartless, Sora did the same. With ever heavier movements, and Heartless grasped at the air above it, attempting to stay afloat. With one more nod, and a grin from Sora, he and Donald both called out "Fira!".

Both spells flew true, and the ice immediately evaporated, seconds before the entire Heartless erupted into flames. Without letting up, Sora and Donald called out a few more fire spells, before Sora had to stop because of a splitting headache—from both the overuse of spells, and the piercing scream of the Heartless.

But, as it appeared to Sora, the scream lasted but seconds until the Heartless was entirely consumed by fire and dissipated into the sky, leaving a glowing heart to do the same.

In its place was left a rectangular piece of parchment, which seemed to hang in the air for a moment before is started to descend lightly to the ground, only to be snagged from the air by Peter Pan.

* * *

Pixie dust was such a retarded way of defying gravity, Number II thought as he dove off of the tip of the Clocktower.

* * *

It appeared to Sora that all these energy bursts had been caused by especially powerful Heartless. He could only guess they had come from the Hollow Bastion Keyhole, in the period when it had remained unlocked.

Currently, the group had landed themselves back on Olympus Coliseum—the next site of an extraordinary energy reading. The world seemed about to storm, dark clouds creating a black ceiling over the land. The coliseum itself was oddly quiet; no roar of crowds, no clang of swords. The door to the atrium was cracked open.

"Gawrsh, this is kinda creepy." Goofy noted.

Sora and Donald nodded their agreement.

"I think we should fine Phil" Sora said.

Inside the atrium, the group found Phil hiding behind the large stone block, tending to a wounded Hercules.

"Phil!" Sora said, shocked. "What happened?"

"Ah, kid..." Phil said sadly, wiping crusted blood from Hercules' face. "There was this guy, and he had this sword, and Herc tried to...and the crowds, man, they ran like hades...and-" As Phil recounted his fragmented story, his voice increased in speed and terror.

"Phil. Phil!" Sora placed a hand on the goat-man's shoulder. "Calm down. Tell us what happened."

From this new angle, Sora got a better look at Hercules, and part of him wished he hadn't. The Hero of Olympus' head was a black and blue mess, and his chestplate was cracked, his cape torn. He had a deep gash in his left leg, and his right arm seemed bent at a horrible angle. Immediately, he and Donald each cast a Cure spell on Hercules.

Phil nodded his thanks and started a little more calmly. "Well, this challenger appeared who wanted to fight Herc...scary guy. Tall. Long sword. He had a wing. And he...he...it was terrifying."

Phil said nothing more.

"Let's go see who's out there." Sora looked to Donald and Goofy for confirmation.

"Geeze, Sora, it looks kinda dangerous. Maybe we should think this through a little more..." Goofy replied.

"Look, someone did this to Hercules." Sora gestured at the man laying on the ground, who was only looking slightly better. "And this is _Hercules _we're talking about. Who knows what else this guy could do. We've got to check it out."

"Sora..." Donald spoke up. "Are you okay? You seem kinda tired...I don't know if you're up to what's out there..."

"Of course I am!" Sora punched the air a few times to prove his point. "It's just been a long day with those giant Heartless. Let's just check this out, and then we can hit the sack?"

Donald and Goofy looked at each other, unsure.

"Kid, look, this guy is unbelievable. I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into..." Phil interjected.

"Don't worry, Phil," Sora replied. "Take care of Hercules, okay?"

Phil sighed. "Good luck, hero. Don't end up like Herc here, okay?"

"Okay." Sora replied and hefted the Keyblade onto his shoulder. "Let's go, guys."

Passing through the atrium exit and into the arena, Sora first noticed how empty it was. Just like the rest of the Coliseum, no one was inside the arena—not even the mysterious figure. The group glanced around in confusion, when suddenly, Sora heard a sound from above that sounded like the rush of escaping air. He looked up and saw several bright pinpricks of light swirl together above the field and create a mini-explosion. In the explosion's aftermath, the air above seemed to collapse into itself and turn pitch black. In turn, out of the dark appeared a complex pattern on the sky: like ancient hieroglyphics, gold in color. From the middle of the glyphs, a beam of energy emerged and crashed to the ground in front of Sora, causing a blinding flash of light to erupt. The light forced Sora to cover his eyes with his arm, and when he felt it was safe enough to pull it away, a man stood in the place of the light, in the midst of the silent stadium. He turned around slowly, and Sora got full sight of him.

The man stood at least a full head or two taller than Sora, with long, silver hair that fell to his waist and grew up and then fell down to frame either side of his face; a face that was perfectly angular, with piercing, blue-green eyes staring out from underneath a chiseled brow. He wore a black, leather coat that connected around the waist by a silver buckle, curved to a large collar that reached his pointed ears at the top, and flared out at the bottom to accommodate the two, dark black, tinged with blue, angelic wings that seemed to sprout from some hidden point under his coat at the bottom.. His midchest was bare, framed by the leather coat and criss-crossed in two straps. His shoulders were protected by silver pauldrons, and his leather jacket extended all the way down his arms to a pair of silver, metal rings on his wrists, which connected to his leather gloves. He wore knee-high, black boots on his feet and black slacks. A large, angelic wing, colored black and dark blue, sprouted over his right shoulder and extended out further than his arm. In his gloved hand, he held a enormously long sword, extending to, at least, four or five times the average size of the Keyblade! Easily twice the height of the man himself, the sword resembled an thin katana.

The man, majestic in his appearance, said absolutely nothing. He simply watched Sora passively with his shudderingly clear eyes.

"What...what do you want?" Sora asked, more than slightly unnerved by the man.

The man didn't reply.

"Are...are you going to say anything?"

No response.

"Hey! He's talking to you!" Donald yelled.

The man raised his empty hand, and made it into a fist. With the crunch of leather, several orbs of darkness appeared around Sora, Donald and Goofy. Before any of them could react, the orbs were pulled inward and Sora saw nothing but darkness.

* * *

The man took a few steps forward, boots crunching on the firm earth. He pointed his long sword toward the young boy, aiming to skewer him, when a soft, but stern voice spoke out across the field.

"So, we meet again. After seven years." Cloud Strife said. "Sephiroth."

"I was searching for you, too." Sephiroth replied, as if he had been expecting Cloud to appear, moving his interest seamlessly from the young boy to the blonde mercenary.

"Is that why you entered this tournament? To draw me out?"

"Astute as ever, Cloud." Sephiroth turned fully to face the newcomer, who now had his giant sword held in front of him at a ready.

"I can't wake from this nightmare as long as you exist. You are my darkness."

Sephiroth spread his arms wide. "If that is so, then I shall draw you into the black. Into nightmares ever deeper, that forever deprive you of light." a small reflection of a smile crept across Sephiroth's lips. "From which you may never escape."

Immediately, Sephiroth leapt into action, flying towards Cloud at tremendous speeds. Cloud, at the ready, blocked Sephiroth's opening strike and jumped into the air, starting a fast-paced and intense battle. After only a minute of dueling, Sephiroth opened a dark portal that swallowed the both of them, leaving the arena empty except for three unconscious bodies.

When Sora finally awoke, he found nothing but a slowly clearing sky, and another piece of Ansem's report blowing about the Coliseum field.

* * *

Sora felt about ready to drop dead when Donald informed him that there was at least one more high-energy reading that the ship could sense.

And it was at Hollow Bastion.

Sora could only sigh and hope it was the last one, as he entered the Castle Chapel to the scene of the still-remaining Princesses of Heart huddled around a large form on the ground. Upon approaching, Sora realized it was Beast.

"What happened to Beast?" Sora asked, concerned.

Belle, who was tending to Beast's large wounds personally, replied. "Some monster is in the Grand Hall. We don't know who he is, or what he wants, but when Beast confronted him he...did this..." her voice dropped off as she looked back Beast.

Sora nodded. "Okay, we'll see who's there and take care of it."

"Good luck, Keyblade Master" Cinderella called after Sora as he started walking up the stairs to the Grand Hall.

"And to you, too, Donald and Goofy" Aurora added.

"Finally!" Donald harumphed. "It's about time someone acknowledged us!"

Sora snorted and laughed. "Guess I'm just more important."

Together, the three scoured the Grand Hall. They met back up at the upper platform.

"There's nothing here." Donald declared.

Goofy took on a thoughtful look. "So what did that to Beast?"

Sora was about to reply when he heard something like a whispered breath behind him. He turned just in time for a black apparition to walk straight through him. His vision darkened and he felt light-headed as the ghostly figured passed, as it felt to him, between the molecules of his body. Dizziness overtook him as he felt multiple different thoughts pass through his head.

_Naminé_

"_The Heartless are coming!"_

_Roxas_

"_I'm here, I promise."_

_Genesis_

"_I am now unhindered by the heart!"_

_Summer_

"_It'll be an accident"_

_Memories_

"_We'll go together"_

_The Tests_

"_Why?"_

_The Angel_

"_Why can't I feel anything!"_

_Jenova_

"_How dare you?"_

_Xehanort_

"_Why must you be so intent on the Heart of all Worlds?"_

_Tsviets_

"_Cold, so very cold"_

_Kingdom Hearts_

In an instant, the ideas and thoughts drifted from his head and Sora turned to see where the apparition had gone. To his surprise, it had become completely material and now stood looking up at the Keyhole. The man, for it was definitely a man, wore a long, black cloak—exactly like the one the being who had guided Sora way back in Deep Jungle had worn, or the man who had killed the desert Heartless in Agrabah earlier that morning. However, this man was altogether different than those other two. He was taller and stronger-built, and seemed to radiate power, as if he was the general of a great army, assured of a victory because of a plan of his own creation.

"Who...who are you?" Sora asked the man, a part of him wondering if he would respond at all.

He did.

"Ah...it seems like you are special as well." the voice was deep and thick, almost juicy. It shook the room with a melody played on the low end of a piano, audible in both Sora's ears and in his mind.

"Ansem? It sounds almost like Ansem..." Goofy thought aloud.

The man looked over his shoulder through his hood. Sora caught the glint of burning yellow eyes in the darkness. "Ansem. That is a familiar sound. Very familiar."

A bright ball of glowing blue energy appeared in the man's left hand.

"You look like him." he said.

"What's that supposed to mean? Look like who?"

Without replying, the man threw the ball of energy at Sora in one fluid movement. Sora quickly materialized the Oathkeeper and blocked the orb, knocking it away and into the ceiling. The room shook, and the ceiling released a few rocks and collapsed piping. The man remained unconcerned, now fully facing Sora, Donald and Goofy.

"It means, you are not complete. An incomplete one." Now both glowing yellow eyes stared out from underneath the hood at an unnerved Sora. "That power...allow me to test your power."

The Unknown, as Sora decided to refer to him, raised his hands above his head and two firey red blades of energy shot from his palms. Just barely slow enough that Sora could notice, the Unknown glided forward on seemingly nothing and struck with both blades toward Sora's head. He threw up the Keyblade just in time to block the attack. The Unknown's new proximity to Sora did nothing to help Sora glean any new knowledge about him. He only felt colder, and the bright yellow eyes were only more intimidating.

Donald called out a fire spell that shot so close to Sora he could feel its passing heat, but the Unknown had already disappeared. Glancing around to see where he had gone, Sora saw him materialize behind Donald. Too quick for Sora to call out a warning, the Unknown placed a hand over Donald and created a dome of electricity over the duck mage.

"Donald!" Sora yelled in fear, just as the electricity hit his friend. The man seemed to pull the dome back into his hand, leaving Donald to collapse on the ground in a heap.

Goofy charged forward toward the Unknown, shield out, but the man threw up a wall of blue energy that Goofy crashed into, sending the brave knight sliding back. Quickly recovering, though, Goofy expertly tossed his shield at the Unknown, hoping to catch him off-guard. The Unknown easily stopped the shield millimeters from his hands with his blue energy, and sent it careening back at Goofy, connecting solidly in the chin. Goofy went flying backwards, and slid to a stop on the ground.

With both his friends knocked out by such compassionless precision, Sora raised the Oathkeeper high and charged forward. The Unknown called up another dome of energy to the front of Sora and a little to the right, throwing the Keyblade Master off to left, where another blue dome sprouted from the ground and sent Sora tumbling.

Taking the hit for a moment, Sora breathed heavily and jumped to his feet, continuing the charge. Just as he reached the Unknown and swung, the man side-stepped his attack, caught Sora by the shoulders, and kneed him in the gut. All breath left Sora at the moment, and he felt like the man's knee had gone right through him.

As Sora painfully tried to inhale any air at all, gasping like a choking man, the Unknown grabbed the boy by the scruff of his jacket and threw him down the spiraling staircase to the lower floor.

Tumbling to a stop at the bottom, Sora's lungs burned painfully as he still could not catch a breath. He tried to push himself off the floor unsuccessfully, ending with only moving himself onto his back.

"Truly fascinating. This will indeed be found enjoyable by all involved." Sora looked up to the edge of the upper platform to see the Unknown standing there, looking down on him with his horrible, horrible eyes.

"What...what...are...you talking...about?" Sora gasped out through his darkening vision.

The Unknown stepped off of the upper platform into the air and calmly floated down toward Sora, disappearing in and out of view due to Sora's increasingly heavy eyes. The Unknown's coat billowed out behind him with the descending current.

"In your present state, you most likely cannot understand. Never the less, the time when we can meet again with doubtlessly come." the Unknown finished speaking just as his boots hit the ground with a quiet click.

"What...are you?" Sora wheezed through his last few blinks.

The Unknown wordlessly dropped a piece of parchment over Sora's chest. His yellow eyes burned holes into Sora's cerulean ones as the paper soundlessly twisted and turned as it fell.

"I am...a mere shell."

_Darkness._

* * *

_**The Report of Ansem: Studies into the Heart  
**__**Part Eight**_

_There is no doubt that the Heartless are deeply connected to the people's hearts. Further study may unravel both their motivations and the mysteries shrouding the heart._

_As a start, I have built a device that artificially creates Heartless. By recreating the conditions that spawn heartless naturally, I should be able to produce them artificially. This device is the culmination of all my research thus far. The machine's test run successfully created a Heartless._

_This may be a step toward creating a heart from nothing. The artificially and naturally created Heartless showed nearly identical traits. But the two types remain distinct for the purpose of the experiment. So, I will mark the ones that are created artificially._

_~**Ansem.**_

_**The Report of Ansem: Studies into the Hearts  
**__**Part Eleven.**_

_Upon opening the door of the world's heart, the wall around that world is broken down. This is seen as a shooting star. Through this, I have been able to understand the reason why the material known as Gummi Blocks has the ability to allow travel to other worlds._

_A world's wall collapses because of the appearance of the Heartless, but finding a world's door takes time. And robbing a world of it's heart is a similar case. If the door has been closed by the Keyblade Master's Keyblade, and only his, one would probably be unable to reach that world's heart again. Before the Keyblade Master appears in this world, I then must take certain measures..._

_Supposing that there is a close relationship between the Princesses of Heart and the Keyblade, it seems likely that they will resonate with each other..._

_I have chosen a special girl. I do not know if she possesses the power of the Princesses, but there is a chance, and this is an experiment. She may lead me to the place where the one holding the key is..._

_I shall send her off to the ocean of other worlds._

_**~Ansem.**_

_**The Report of Ansem: Studies into the Heart  
**__**Part Twelve.**_

_I have transcended to an existence of only the heart. I should have come back as a Heartless, but there is no sign of such transformation. My body has been sent off. However, I am different from the other Heartless, keeping the memories of before, and I have not taken on the form of a Heartless._

_It is evident that there is still many things to be studied._

_In order to cross over to the Dark Realm, which is not this world, you must go beyond the Door to Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds. The core connected to the world's heart, the place that will take me to the World of Darkness. _

_There are still so many unknown worlds. The Realm of the Present...the Realm of Darkness...the Realm of Light..._

_And, the Realm of In-Between._

_In which one will I find what I seek?_

_~**Ansem**_

_**The Report of Ansem: Studies of the Heart.  
**__**Part Thirteen.  
**__**The Final Part **_

_When the heart casts away the body, where does the body go? Heart and Soul are separate, and the soul remains in the body. But can we assume that the remaining body and soul perish? _

_Certainly when the heart changes into a Heartless, the body disappears._

_Or does that apply solely to this realm? Could other beings similar to Heartless exist somewhere?_

_If we take that to be the case, then there must be another form of oneself elsewhere._

_An existence neither of darkness nor of light. An in-between existence. Cast off by the heart, a mere shell, one who begrudges both darkness and the light. This mystery cannot be easily solved. The relationship between the heart and the body is a complex one._

_But since we exist here, our counterparts must not be existent._

_Therefore, I shall call them..._

_The Nobodies._

_**~Ansem.**_

* * *

_While some of you may not remember those last three reports from the game, rest assured, they are from the series. They can only be found in the Final Mix._

_I'd like to take this space to give a personal message to ViralHybrid29, one of my readers—I've gotten your messages about writing more, and I'm really, really trying to, but life is busy and not always conductive to time to write. Don't worry, though, I'm never going to just give up on this.  
__Now, why am I saying this here instead of a return message? Because, apparently my friend, you have Private Messages turned off, so I cannot reply to you._

_Also, I changed the quote on chapter 18(aka, the best chapter yet) to something I recently heard that is a great deal more fitting. _

_~Mars_


	22. A Night on Bald Mountain

_See? I can update...timely?_

So...um...this is really kinda dark. Like, for real. Like. Wow. Dark.  
And kinda long. I really quite like it!

* * *

_**Chapter XXII: A Night on Bald Mountain.  
**_"_I felt like destroying something beautiful"  
__~Fight Club_

Sora awoke in a fitful state, sitting up straight, covers already thrown off the bed around him and scattered on the floor. Sora sighed and placed his head in his hands. Soaked in sweat, he sighed and fell back down on the pillow. His sleep had been scattered, like the blankets around him, all night. Ansem seemed to prey upon his dreams and fill them with darkness—a problem which only seemed to increase as the Gummi Ship approached what Sora assumed would be their final destination.

"_25 Minutes until arrival at Darkness nexus" _the Gummi ship chimed in a feminine tone. Using the computer, Donald had triangulated where the highest concentration of darkness was, based on the the previous energy bursts and the rapidly expanding Heartless movements.

And they were headed toward that concentration now, and it wasn't doing Sora's mind any wonders. All of this not to mention the soreness of his body, or how his mind just felt numb. Sora, Donald and Goofy had awoken late the last night, being tended to the by Princess' in the Hollow Bastion. Aerith had looked them over and had done her best with her meager supplies, and excellent healing magic, and Sora had felt better than he had thought he would, but he still wasn't completely feeling well.  
Another thought had consumed his mind, as well, in his sleep:

Why hadn't the Unknown man in Hollow Bastion killed him? Or the terrifyingly powerful being in Olympus? What had made them stop?

And who were those men in the black cloaks? They haunted Sora's dreams right beside the looming figure of Ansem.

It had not been a good night.

Hoping for a cool galactic sight to reprieve his mind, Sora gazed out his window. Instead of beauty, like the first time Sora had looked out that window, he was faced with a dark planet in the distance. The purple and black mess didn't so much seem to have edges or borders; more like it just melted into the empty space around it. At the same time, though, it didn't so much as melt as it...absorbed the incoming space. A swirling mist seem to twist around an inner black hole, and dark clouds surrounded it all. In the midst of the black hole, it seemed to glow with an unearthly white pitch.

And this was where they were going.

Sora closed his eyes, took a breath, and rolled off the bed.

Might as well try and start this dark morning off with some bacon.

* * *

Without the assurance that the Gummi Ship would not just be dragged into the planet's darkness, Donald decided it would be prudent to land the ship on the planet itself. When Sora stepped off of the ship's landing platform, he found himself on a small spit of rock in the middle of an enormous sea. Little teardrops of rock formations dotted the sea, which seemed to be both deep and extremely shallow at the same time. The endless sea stretched off in every direction, connecting with the endless purple and white colored sky. In the distance, the rocks seemed to increase as they approached a single brighter white light.

"Hello. Do you yet realize where you tread?" a deep voice intoned.

As shivers ran down Sora's spine, he quickly turned and leapt away from the voice, calling the Oathkeeper to a ready. Donald and Goofy joined him on either side, with their weapons raised as well.

"You!" Sora announced, staring across an empty expanse of ocean to where Ansem stood on a small, rocky, outcropping. Sora's dreams flew through his head.

"This place is known as the End of the World." Ansem continued. "It is a conglomeration of all the destroyed hearts of other worlds-a frankenstein planet, under an endless sky."

Ansem raised his hands and two giant Heartless appeared on either side of him. Resembling demons, they were twice Sora's size, colored pitch black, and had pointed purple horns sprouting from above their yellow eyes. They had small, dark wings, and a thin, pointed tail. In the middle of their muscled bodies, a heart shaped hole shown through them. In their hands, each held a rounded silver sword. They hovered at a ready beside Ansem's shoulders.

"Gawrsh, so this is all that's left of the worlds taken by the Heartless?" Goofy asked.

"It is what could be called a Heartless world." Ansem responded, from across the sea. "Filled to the absolute brimming with beautiful Heartless!"

With a gripping of his hands, a dozen more of the demon Heartless appeared behind Ansem.

"I hope you live to see the rest of the beauty of this place." Ansem smiled as he turned and disappeared into the throng of Heartless.

Sora, not bothering to count how many of them there were, (in his mind, what difference did it make if there were twelve or twelve hundred? He'd have to fight them all anyway.) readied himself for incoming Heartless demons. Immediately, Donald was able to eliminate one with a raging fire spell that engulfed the creature.

"Nice one, Donald!" Sora congratulated.

Donald shrugged and blocked the sword of the closest demon with his staff. "Now if only I could do it for them all."

Sora blocked a swing of a sword himself, then swung the Oathkeeper in a circle, pushing the demon's blade along with it, until Sora had the angle to stab straight through the creature. "These worlds will be restored if we beat Ansem, right?" he asked as he fought.

"You betcha!" Goofy's voice came from somewhere behind two Heartless.

"But-if we do beat him-" Sora slashed at another demon. "-and all these worlds become restored and disconnected-" Sora faked out low, followed by a true high strike that struck at the demon's head. "-what's going to happen to this place? And to us?"

Donald paused. "Well, uh..."

"Blizzara!" Sora yelled, a pointed icicle forming at the end of the Oathkeeper. It flew straight past Donald's head and impaled a Heartless approaching behind the mage.

"This is a Heartless world, so maybe it'll just disappear!" Goofy suggested, beating another Heartless into mist while blocking simultaneous strikes from another.

Sora's eyes widened. "What? Isn't that bad for us?"

"No worries!" Goofy replied, gesturing towards a Heartless coming at Sora from behind. "Even if this place goes poof, out hearts ain't goin' nowhere! I'm sure we'll find out pals again." Goofy stood beside Sora, who was looking up at a demon Heartless in front of him. Goofy placed a hand on Sora's shoulder and smiled. "Yup, I just know we will!"

Sora nodded and smiled back. "Yeah, you're right."

Sora took a few steps, jumped up and swung down on the demon Heartless, entering his next duel with death.

* * *

Well, here they were, Donald thought.

The three of them had traveled across the breadth of the universe to try and save it, and Donald had seen more than he had ever dreamed of seeing(not that he would ever admit it out loud, of course), and now they were here on this weird-heartless-planet-thingy, walking across a long field of blue rock.

After defeating the demon Heartless at the landing spot, the group had traveled through the large ocean and eventually reached this shore. They had figured the smartest way was to head toward the white light in the distance, and that's where they currently were headed.

Sora walked ahead, arms angled behind his head, seemingly careless, but Donald knew he was still on the sharp lookout for incoming Heartless. Donald was a little concerned about Sora. When he had gotten up that morning, finding Sora attempting, almost correctly, to cook bacon, the redness around Sora's eyes and the rough aspect to his voice had unnerved the duck mage. But Sora was probably just tired. He'd be able to rest soon. Soon as they saved the entire universe.

The entire universe had all better be grateful, Donald thought.

To Donald's right, his ever faithful friend Goofy was also on the sharp lookout for Heartless, although quite a bit more obviously; his long snout and large eyes constantly roving back and forth across the landscape. Goofy...Donald shook his head and nearly smiled. Just good 'ole Goofy.

Suddenly, that ground started to quake uncontrollably and the blue rock beneath Donald's feet began to split. Earthquake! He quickly jumped towards Goofy just as the rocky earth completely broke apart where he had been standing and the two sides started to separate from each other. The fissure continued haphazardly in either direction, as far as Donald could see, and it only continued to widen.  
It was too late when Donald realized Sora was on the other side.

"Sora!" Goofy yelled across the small canyon that had spread between the group. "Are you okay over there?"

"Yeah! I'm fine." Sora yelled back, testing the edges of the canyon with his feet. "You guys keep going! I'll try and find somewhere to cross over!"

With that, Sora trotted off to find a bridge or a climbing point or something, who knew what that boy had in his head, Donald thought. Sometimes, Donald could barely stand his...spontaneity.

The duck mage walked up to the edge of the canyon and peered down into the blue rock, expecting the darkness of a descending canyon. Instead, Donald was surprised when he could see all the way to the bottom. The edges of the canyon were dotted with rocky outcroppings of what seemed to be crystalline structures catching the little light that End of the World had to offer and reflecting it all the way to the craggy bottom.

But that earthquake, Donald thought, it had been awfully sudden-

"Greetings, friends of the Keyblade Master."

Of course.

"Ansem!" Goofy accused.

Sure enough, there, standing a ways away from the canyon, surrounded in twitching Heartless, stood Ansem, smiling like a gracious host.

"I apologize-"

Yeah, right, Donald thought.

"-for the severity of the action I used to get your attention, but I quite simply had to separate you and the boy."

"Gawrsh, why?" Goofy asked.

"To be completely honest," Ansem replied, arms spread wide. "I'm concerned for the both of you."

"What are you talking about?" Donald squawked and pointed an accusing finger at Ansem. "You wouldn't know concern if I beat you with it until you were black and blue!"

Ansem didn't acknowledge Donald's verbal attack. "I'm just haunted by the idea that the two of you have completely and utterly abandoned your true mission." Ansem's piercing gaze fell completely upon Donald. "Weren't you supposed to be searching for your King?"

"Hey! How'd you know 'bout that?" Goofy exclaimed.

Ansem just smiled. "Is anything really hidden from the Heartless?"

"Well, we're looking for the king still! Aren't we, Donald?" Goofy looked to Donald for confirmation.

"Are you?" Ansem arched his fingers. "Because it appears to me that you've given that up in favor of following that boy around—who, need I remind you, hasn't given up on his mission as you have on yours."

Donald didn't respond. Wasn't Ansem as least partially correct? Donald recalled all that time ago to Deep Jungle, where he had been so dedicated to the singular purpose of finding the King—fulfilling his true duty. Where had that Donald gone? When had this adventure become about Sora and the Keyblade? When had he given up on his King, and dear friend?

"Ah, I can see that you comprehend my point." Ansem nodded at Donald. "I'm afraid that you have fallen off of your path."

"Just because we're helping Sora and saving the world" Goofy responded. "Doesn't mean we're not trying to find the King! We're just followin' his orders! We're sticking with the Key!"

"But wouldn't it be more useful to keep watch on that Key, and yet still find your King? It appears to me you have only done one of those." Ansem gestured smoothly with his gloved hands.

"There's more to it than just following the Key" Donald finally spoke up. "Sora is our friend. And we're helping him save the world and find _his_ friends."

"Your King, though-" Ansem started.

"The King can take care of the King!" Donald interrupted sternly and finally. "We're doing what he would want us to!"

Ansem's upper lip twitched.

Donald gulped quietly. Had he really just said that the King could take care of the King? Had he just completely abandoned his Majesty? What was he doing?

Obviously, Sora had driven him to madness. But Donald had a new duty—it didn't replace his old one;it was more like...an evolution of it.

Goofy nodded and held up his shield. "That's exactly what the King would want! We're helping the worlds! And Sora!"

Ansem didn't reply.

"So stop trying to get inside our heads!" Donald pulled out his wand and pointed it at Ansem. "We're not gonna listen to you!"

Ansem raised his hand in a closed fist.

"If that is what you desire."

When his fingers opened, the Heartless charged.

* * *

Sora stepped from the portal into a hallway that looked like it had been lifted directly from Hollow Bastion and dropped here. The rugs, the vaulted ceilings, the carved pillars—all looked to be from the Castle.

When Sora had found no quick way of crossing the chasm, and after having attempted to climb down it(and nearly slipping and falling to his death) he had simply decided to walk in the direction of the blinding white light, and when he had reached it, he had found himself in this simple hallway that led to only one door at the end.

Taking lonely, echoing footsteps, Sora walked to the door and pushed it open. Inside, he stared in awe at a giant machine that hummed loudly. Just like the rest of the hallway, it was reminiscent to Sora of Hollow Bastion—particularly of the machinery surrounding the Final Keyhole. The intricate wiring and piping around the entire room that connected to the pulsating machine eerily reminded Sora of the Great Hall—a place of which he didn't have many happy memories.

The machine itself was huge in size, and shaped like a snowglobe, the bottom portion contained where all the wires and complex machinery connected together. Most of the open parts were plated over in what looked like an ornate rock covering, blocking many of the important parts of the machine from harm. Several large tubes connected into the spherical, glass top, seeming to support it, appearing to pour black ink inside of it. Inside the glass, Sora could see nothing, as it was entirely filled with smoky darkness. Every now and then, though, he could swear he saw glowing yellow eyes within the constantly swirling darkness. A gold plate on the bottom front of the machine showed an inscription.

_Ones born of the heart and darkness, devoid of hearts, ravage all worlds and bring desolation.  
Seize all hearts and consummate the Great Heart. All hearts be to one, one heart encompass all.  
Realize this destiny: The Realm of Kingdom Hearts. The great darkness sealed within the great heart.  
Progeny of darkness, come back to eternal darkness. Or the heart of light shall unseal the path.  
Seven hearts, one Keyhole, one Key to the Door._

_The Door to Darkness, tied by two keys._

_The Door of Darkness to seal the light.._

_None shall pass but shadows, returning to the darkness._

_Ones born of the heart and darkness, hunger for every heart until the dark door opens._

"Isn't it beautiful? A true marvel of technology."

Sora whirled quickly and materialized the Oathkeeper as Ansem strode confidently from the hallway.

"I brought it here when it became clear that Hollow Bastion was too weak to continue living." Ansem spoke as his gaze roved over the machine, examining it with a mix of pride and awe.

"What...what is it?" Sora asked, still keeping his Keyblade pointed suspiciously at Ansem. "And where are Donald and Goofy?"

"Your friends are...otherwise occupied at the moment, fighting quite the large swarm of Heartless." Ansem replied, with his hand now resting on the machine, appearing to feel its hum. "As for your other question, I know you have been reading my reports. You must have a guess as to what this wonderful device is?"

Sora thought back to Ansem's Reports. No way...was this...?

"This is the device you made to artificially create Heartless?" Sora exclaimed.

"Correct."

Sora looked at the machine again through the lens of his new knowledge. This device...created Heartless? Now the darkness in the glass orb made sense. That's where they were formed!

Without another thought, Sora quickly moved forward and slashed at the machine with the Oathkeeper, cutting pipes and breaking glass. In the midst of it, he thought he heard a deep rumbling, but paid no attention, as he wanted to finish the destruction before Ansem could intervene. In under thirty seconds, Sora had completely decimated the machine beyond what he imagined could be repaired; it dying with the scream of a half-completed Heartless.

Surprised that Ansem hadn't interrupted him, he turned to look at the man.

"You do realize that your extremely violent action here won't stop the Heartless, correct?" Ansem said, appearing passively interested in the machine's destruction. "Their millions will just continue to propagate now with every new heart they destroy—Just as before."

The rumbling, which Sora had thought he had heard before, now sounded closer, and it was undeniably there this time.

"Even so," Sora responded. "I think every little bit helps."

"How very hopeful of you." Ansem replied disdainfully.

The rumbling was become louder and more constant.

"What is that?" Sora asked, just as the room started to tremble.

Ansem calmly stood motionless as the room started to fall apart—the machine collapsing inward, pieces of the ceiling falling, the floor cracking.

"That..." Ansem started, but was interrupted when the ceiling of the room was ripped off completely, revealing a black sky and giant head above. A completely black-skinned, demonic head as large as the entire room glared down into Sora. Sora felt fear explode into his heart as he stared into the giant yellow eyes of a gargantuan creature. A powerful wind swept into the room as the ceiling was thrown off, blowing Sora nearly off his feet. Ansem, still, stayed calm as the huge monster gazed down from above and moved ever closer, the wind blowing Ansem's off-white cloak in all directions.

The rumble had become intolerably, unnaturally, loud.

Ansem continued, voice scarily serene, "That is Chernabog. Keeper of the End of the World, and harbinger of your unfortunate death."

Just as Sora thought the wind couldn't blow any harder, that the sky couldn't get any darker or deeper, that the giant creature above couldn't get any more horrible, that giant head, that Chernabog demon, opened its mouth and screamed through rows of fangs that seemed to grin—a hellish, unreal noise that shattered Sora's backbone with trembles and dragged the entire world into darkness.

* * *

Eyes closed, Sora felt something drip onto his forehead and run down his temple. It was slightly warm, and just a little thick. Definitely a liquid. Sora blinked open his eyes and looked up to see that a white rose, partially covered in red, was dripping a cherry-colored liquid off of it. Pushing himself up to get a closer look, it appeared first to Sora to be paint. As his vision took in more, he saw that the white rose was part of a larger bush, which had also been sprinkled in the ruddy substance. Reaching his gloved hand up, Sora wiped the liquid off of his forehead and examined it on his hand.

It wasn't paint.

It was blood.

Yelping, Sora spun around to find that he was in Wonderland, in one of the Queen of Heart's gardens. However, it wasn't completely there as far as Sora could see. Pieces of the world just seemed to be...missing. Gone. Like someone had taken blind pokes at the world and just completely eliminated pieces of it. A section of hedge there, a chunk of earth here, a large piece of the sky—all gone. Replaced instead by purple and black darkness. And then there was the blood...it was dripping everywhere, as if thrown randomly by an artist's brush. That seemed to be the key here—chaos. Haphazard and random. Everything seemed to be falling apart. Even before Sora's eyes, Heartless would suddenly appear and, in seconds, another part of the world would be gone. Eventually, he guessed, there would be nothing left.  
Still, to Sora, the most unbearable part was how...alone he was. There was nothing in this world, as far as he could see. It was completely silent, completely empty. The thought of being alone prodded at the edges of Sora's heart, but he quickly squashed the thoughts, pushing it far away from his mind.

What was he supposed to do now?

As he continued to examine the area, Sora noticed a bit more of a pattern to the blood. It seemed to be more concentrated in certain areas than in others, and it may've formed a path. Sora wasn't completely sure, but the imagined idea of a path was better than nothing, he figured, and decided to follow it.

The path of blood, imagined or not, led Sora through the gardens and a bit into the forest. As he walked, he only became more and more disturbed as he continued to realize anew the sheer amount of blood that soaked the land, as well as noticing the glaringly missing landscape, and still how silent it was.

As Sora passed the tree with the hole in it that he remembered from his visit to Wonderland all that time ago, he started at a noise. It sounded like heavy, but quiet, breathing.

"H-hello?" Sora peered into the dark trunk. "Is..anyone in there?"

Sora now knew that he heard a very distinct exhalation, and in the darkness, two glowing yellow eyes turned to face him. Fear split down Sora's spine as he took a hesitant step back from the tree. Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream cut forth from within the tree and the eyes charged closer. Sora would've screamed himself had he the voice to when Alice, eyes glowing yellow and covered with darkness, dove from the tree, brandishing a dripping, bloody carving knife in her hand. Her dress was ripped and falling apart, and her hair was colored with varying shades of black, as was the rest of her body except her horrible, glowing eyes.

She turned to Sora, head cocked at an unnatural angle, and a shocked Sora could do nothing but stumble backwards, trip over a piece of root, and tumble down a deep, and surprising, hole.

* * *

Sora stared out over the Olympus Coliseum arena. How he had ended up sitting in the rough, rock stands, he had no idea, but here he was. He was looking out over another empty world, under a dark purple sky, that seemed to be collapsing in on itself. Every couple of minutes, another piece of the grand walls of the stadium would crumble and collapse. Sora simply sat and watched, trying desperately to keep the image of the murderess Alice out of his mind.

And again. The world was so empty.

"I am fascinated by few things, Keyblade Master. Darkness, namely. Kingdom Hearts, to name another." Sora heard Ansem's deep, monotone voice drift from behind him. He didn't turn. "And, you. What could _possibly _have come together to make you, you? What intricate network of fate convened to form the person you are today?"

Sora didn't respond to Ansem. He just stared firmly at the opposite wall as a piece of it crumbled and disappeared.

"You're tired, aren't you? I can hardly blame you. It takes a magnificent strength to continue after what you've been through. You've hardly slept over the last forty-eight hours." Sora could only imagine Ansem smiling at that. "What drives you to continue as you do?"

Sora again stayed silent.

"Oh, come now, please do tell me."

Sora paused.

"I keep doing, even when I feel like I don't have any strength left, to make sure that Kairi and Riku stay safe. That everyone stays safe." Sora finally responded.

"Everyone?" Ansem questioned. "As in the entire inhabitants of every world in every sector of this enormous galaxy? That is quite the burden you have placed upon yourself, Keyblade Master."

Sora again didn't respond.

"Would you like to see what all your perseverance has wrought?"

Olympus Coliseum disappeared into darkness.

* * *

The world reappeared around Sora as the treehouse from Deep Jungle. However, it was missing its entire ceiling and upper ramparts, exposing the dark purple sky. Through the cracked windows, Sora could catch a glimpse of the wide sea, reflecting that same dreary sky.

"Behold the fruits of your labor!" Sora looked up at the upper balcony of the treehouse to see Ansem gesturing toward the doorway. Sora turned to see two lumps laying on the threshold. What were they?

Sora approached the two unidentifiable forms, but stopped in his tracks as soon as he realized what they were. They were—are—bodies. One was smaller, maybe half Sora's height and the other was about his size. They were drenched in oozing darkness, but through it, Sora recognized them.

It was Donald and Goofy.

Sora fell to his knees and retched. This was not happening.

It wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't.

He tried to look at up the two forms, but couldn't stand it. He vomited again.

They couldn't be.

They weren't.

It wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't!

The two friends who had been with him on his entire journey, who had laughed with him, supported him, adventured with him, had kept him alive—they weren't dead. Goofy with his lovable doofiness and strong heart, and Donald with his indomitable spirit and unwavering will.

They weren't. It wasn't. It couldn't be.

"Ansem!" Sora screamed, voice breaking, as he whirled to face the balcony. Ansem, however, was gone. In his place stood the cursed leopard Sabor from all that time ago, dripping with darkness and glaring hungrily with glowing yellow eyes. A black tongue slipped from its dark mouth and licked its inky lips. It leapt from the upper balcony, landed softly on the floor, and began to stalk toward Sora slowly. As it walked, the treehouse behind it slowly began to collapse downward and out of view, revealing nothing but the purple sky on all sides now.

The treehouse tipped forward, and Sora grabbed onto a stray plank to keep from sliding into the empty darkness below. As everything started to slip, Sora watched the bodi...his two friends slide into the darkness and disappear. He cried out after them as Sabor followed the forms off into the darkness. Sora felt warms tears explode from his eyes and run over his face, and he cried and gripped onto the board until the entire house's remnants were swallowed.

* * *

Just as before, Sora had no idea how it happened, but he found himself standing at the edge of Aladdin's hovel in Agrabah, looking out over the city. It was burning. No screams were heard, though, only the crackle of fire. There was no one down there but the Heartless. In the distance, Sora could see huge pieces of the planet simply falling off of the mainland and into the endless, all-encompassing, purple sky.

Sora could feel Ansem standing next to him, even through his numbed, quiet mind.

"This isn't the first time I've watched a world burn." Ansem said.

Sora didn't acknowledge the sudden declaration.

"Was it your father, Keyblade Master?"

Sora started.

"Did his tragic loss spurn you on to greater things? Is that event still driving you today to take all this insanity upon your own shoulders?"

In one fluid motion, with all the pain of the worlds, of Donald and Goofy and his father behind him, Sora turned and materialized the Oathkeeper just in time to stab it deeply into Ansem's chest. Sora noticed the burning city casting a chilling shadow against the far wall of the Keyblade, attached to his hand, embedded in Ansem's chest.

Ansem didn't react. Sora's eyes widened in shock. He had just stabbed Ansem.

Without any visible facial reaction, Ansem reached down and pulled the Keyblade out of his chest. Sora didn't fight it, allowing his arm to fall back to his side. A bit of wispy darkness leaked from the gaping, black wound. Slowly, the leaking darkness wove itself together over the injury, returning Ansem's chest to its previous state.

"Why...why are you doing this?" Sora asked, his voice choking up.

Ansem didn't respond.

* * *

Nothing. There was nothing left to the 100 Acre Wood but blank pages and empty books._  
_

* * *

Sora stood beside Ansem on the shores of Atlantica's great oceans, now dark and reflecting the purple of the sky.

"Now, the Heartless will finish draining this world dry. Tell me, Keyblade Master, how do you maintain your endless wellspring of life and joy in the face of this?"

As Sora watched some humanoid form bubble to the surface in this distance, he didn't know.

* * *

Sora stood in the middle of Halloween Town's central square, as Lock, Shock and Barrel—now little demons of Heartless with glowing yellow eyes—slowly ripped the town apart. Sora heard screaming and burning, but whenever he turned to the sound, with a small bit of hope glimmering in his heart that he might be able to help, he found that horrible, horrible nothingness.

"Children are cruel, aren't they?" Ansem asked, boots clicking on the cobblestone as he walked up beside Sora. "If I am not mistaken, you have experienced that firsthand, have you not?"

As seemed to be his habit now, Sora didn't respond. He was too busy trying not to think...not to feel.

"You were never really much well liked, were you? Too kind...too trusting, easily taken advantage of."

"But then Riku-" Sora spoke up, seeing a star of hope in the distance.

"Ah, Riku!" Triumphal emotion entered Ansem's voice, before it dropped to a deadly low."The one you killed, correct?"

* * *

"There is no Neverland" Ansem smirked. "Not with the Heartless"

* * *

"May I ask another question?" Ansem inquired, standing beside Sora in the Grand Hall of Hollow Bastion.

"No."

"What possessed you to do what you did here in this room?"

Sora paused. He thought back to that moment. Why had he-

Of course.

"Love."

"Love?" Ansem chuckled. "Such a painful and changeable feeling."

Feeling some semblance of his heart returning, with the emotions that had filled him at Hollow Bastion, Sora opted to respond. "It's painful sometimes, and I dunno if it could change, but to love someone is one of the most wonderful things in the worlds."

"And who was it that you loved? Was it...her?" Ansem asked pointedly as he stepped back. Sora, his heart and stomach already running cold with dread, turned his head to see Kairi's body laying, soaked in darkness, on the ground in a heap. A few feet beyond her, lay Riku in a similar position. Black eyes open, arms mangled, clothes shredded, Sora didn't respond. Couldn't respond. He had nothing left. His legs just simply gave out from under him and he collapsed to the ground, eyes focused on his hands. When the tears came, he was surprised that he had any left.

"So much for love." Ansem sighed. "It's such a shame, isn't it? You've come so far, worked so hard, only to find that your foundation has been torn out viciously from under you. I'm really quite sorry."

Sora didn't turn. He didn't respond. He didn't act. He barely thought.

They were dead.

Gone.

Alone.

He had tried so hard, triumphed over so much, but this was...unbeatable. All these worlds were destroyed—all the ones he had tried to save. All his dearest friends were dead, and taken by the darkness. And he was alone in this hell with this absolute monster of a man.

And Kairi and Riku were dead.

"I'm afraid that no one can escape the Heartless." Ansem intoned.

Normally, Sora would persevere. Normally he would hope against hope. Normally he would just wait until it got good again. But this wasn't changing, and he barely felt like Sora anymore. He imagined this was what a star felt like when it collapsed, imploding in on itself. Sora had been sucked out from under himself.

And now he had nowhere to even imagine a hope.

Abruptly, the Oathkeeper Keyblade appeared in his hand. His fingers refused to grip, however, and it fell to the ground in front of him with a metallic clang. Sora examined its gleaming white surface, it's pointed, seashell covered blade, it's ornate handle. His eyes drifted down to the Thessalia shell charm that hung off the end of the blade on its white chain. His gift from Kairi that he had promised to return. This Keyblade that had started everything, now intricately mixed with his promise to Kairi. Now what was it good for? What had it ever been good for aside from beating those godforsaken Heartless back into the darkness?

Suddenly, it hit Sora like a gasp of fresh air. The other use for the Keyblade.

It had locked the worlds.

Each world Ansem had just taken him on a horror-filled tour through, Sora had locked with the Keyblade! The Keyblade had locked the Heart of the World away, so that it couldn't be reached by the Heartless! And if the Heartless couldn't reach the world's core, then they couldn't destroy the world!

Sora's heart stole that one ounce of hope from Ansem's darkness and ran with it.

And Kairi! Kairi was safe with Leon's group! They wouldn't let anything bad happen to her! And Riku—Sora himself didn't even know where Riku was!

Looking up, Sora saw the two supposed bodies of his friends morph into the Heartless with their twitching antenna and beady, gluttonous yellow eyes.  
And if this all wasn't real, then that meant that Donald and Goofy were okay too! How had he even been convinced for a minute that any of this was real?

Sora felt the hope, like the cleanest, coldest water, pour over his heart and warm him to the bone. He felt a laugh welling up in that warmth and he couldn't hold it in. Sora threw his head back and laughed heartily and loud, filling the Grand Hall with the happy sound.

"You must be quite morbid to find the death of your friends so amusing." Ansem said. "I must have underestimated you, Keyblade Master."

"This is-" Sora spoke through the laugh, "-All such a fake! Those world's _weren't _destroyed, my friends _aren't _dead. I _know _that!"

"So you are omnipresent now?" Ansem asked, smiling.

"I can feel my friends in my heart, Ansem, and it's not just Riku and Kairi. They keep me going. They keep me hoping. _That's_ how I know they are alive. My friends have made my heart stronger than ever before!" Sora stood up and faced Ansem head-on.

"That is quite the childish and naïve assumption, Keyblade Master. Are you sure you wish to cling to such a petty hope?" Ansem asked, glaring down at Sora.

"You may not understand it, Ansem, but I know it's true." Sora responded, swinging the Oathkeeper Keyblade into a ready position, comforted by the way the Thessalia shell charm swung with it.

"As you wish." Ansem responded.

As soon as Ansem spoke, bloody red portals appeared in all parts of the room. Hellish screams from no where echoed across the walls. Ansem raised his hands in the air and the world dissolved around them into the red portals.

Sora and Ansem were left floating in a swirling vortex of darkness. Below them, a single volcanic mountain stretched into the air. Ansem, long white hair blowing in the wind, slowly crossed his arms in front of his chest, his eyes having never left Sora.

"Allow me a test of faith."

Below, the volcano shook and what Sora had thought was the top of it slowly stood up and extended it's giant wings. Sora felt his stomach drop as he realized he was looking at the giant demon Chernabog emerging from the depths of the volcano. The creature was one of the biggest things that Sora had ever seen, besides maybe a world itself. Nearly as big as the whale Monstro, Chernabog had a huge, muscular torso that led to legs as big as ancient tree trunks, eventually disappearing into the volcano below. Its arms were long and muscular, leading to hands who's sharp talons were as large as Sora himself. Its wing's were pointed and demonic, easily wider than the monster was tall. They arched out beside him and above, like giant menacing claws. And then its head, and its terrible glowing yellow eyes that seemed to stare into Sora from under a hewn, angled brow. Its mouth was fanged and deadly, and pointed ears arched from either side of its head like demonic horns.

This creature was, by far, the most horrible thing Sora had ever seen in all of his travels.

"Sora!"

Sora whirled to hear the sound of his name, noticing briefly that at some unknown point, Ansem had disappeared. What he saw made his heart leap, as he watched Donald and Goofy tumble through a dark portal in the air.

"Woah! We're flying again, Donald!" Goofy announced, righting himself in air just in time to get caught by a hug from Sora. "Gawrsh, Sora, what's this for? We weren't gone _that _long, were we?"

Sora heard Donald float in from the side, "Sora, what are-" But Sora interrupted him by grabbing him by the vest and pulling him into the hug, not caring at all about the sheer ridiculousness of doing this directly in front of the monster Chernabog.

"I'm..." Sora swallowed, almost feeling the tears well up again. "I'm really glad to see you guys."

"It's good to see you, too, Sora!" Goofy grinned and hugged Sora back. Donald squirmed and pulled himself out of the embrace.

"What's gotten into you, So-WAAAAH!" Donald screamed as he caught sight of Chernabog. "What in the name of the King is that?"

"I don't know for sure—" Sora replied, watching Chernabog warily, "But with the three of us together, I'm sure we can take it!"

"Right!" Goofy stated, readying his shield. "Let's do it, guys!"

Seeing his enemies, Chernabog raised its massive arms in the air, as if grasping for something. The volcano below him started to glow dark and hot, a red mist beginning to gather around its legs. Suddenly, the volcano erupted high into the air, completely surrounding Chernabog and throwing hot lava and fire arching through air. As it started to drop, Sora called upon a Reflect spell, forming a honeycombed sphere around the three. The hot lava landed on the shield and hissed, slowly rolling down off of it.

"Guys, when I let down this shield," Sora said, "We're gonna charge. Do whatever you can to take that thing down."

"Got it, Sora!" Goofy replied. Donald nodded.

Just as the air cleared, Sora dropped the shield and flew straight for the demon's head, Goofy beside him.

Sneaking ahead of him, Goofy landed on the top of Chernabog's head, and, after balancing himself, proceeded to start to bash the monster's head with his shield. Sora flew through the air swiftly, dodging the demon's swinging arms that reached to swat Goofy off—to no avail. Sora, desperately rummaging his mind for a way to take down such an enormous creature, and aimed directly for the throat, thrusting the Keyblade and stabbing it sideways deep into where the jugular vein would be in a human.

When the Keyblade sank into flesh, black ooze squirted out around it. Chernabog screamed and with one flap of its wings, created a powerful vortex of wind that threw Goofy far away from it. The same would've been done to Sora, had he not gripped tightly onto the Keyblade.

"Thunder! Thunder! THUNDER!" Donald casted again and again, striking Chernabog at all different parts of its body. Then, aiming for the face, "Blizzara!"

Chernabog, finding the sword in his neck wasn't gone, reached up and grabbed Sora with his huge hand, totally eclipsing the boy and the Keyblade in his grip. Had Sora room to even breathe, he would've stabbed the monster in the hand or chopped its fingers off, however, Sora had no such room to maneuver within the monster's grip. Just as Chernabog began to squeeze, Donald's Blizzara spell crashed into Chernabog's face, causing the monster to release Sora, who, newly back in the air and dizzied, plummeted to the ground.

Crashing into the side of the volcano, Sora tumbled a few feet before coming to a rest on his back, the Keyblade lodging into the ground beside him. Looking up from such a low place, Sora felt nauseous at the sheer monstrous size of Chernabog, towering so tall, black against the night. How had he ever thought he could take that on?

But as he watched his friends trade blows with the monster, he remembered why. Because he had Donald and Goofy with him.  
Sora grabbed the Keyblade to hoist himself up, feeling the warmth in the hilt from it being stuck in the volcano. "Donald!" he yelled as he flew up. "I've got an idea. When I throw it, ice the Keyblade!"

Donald looked quizzical. "Whatever you say, Sora..."

Sora grinned and nodded and turned to face the demon, shivering again as his eyes met those slanted, evil yellow ones.

Sora decided he had had enough of those freaking yellow eyes today.

With a close fly-in, Sora took aim, just a little bit higher than the monster's eyes, and tossed the Oathkeeper like a javelin at Chernabog. From behind Sora, Donald's Blizzard spell crashed into the Keyblade moments after and pushed it harder, covering the entire blade with a pointed icicle. So small that Chernabog could barely see it, let alone block it, the icy blade flew straight into Chernabog's left eye. With a roar that shook the volcano, Chernabog grasped at his face, tossing the Keyblade, like a toothpick, to the side. Sora flew low and grabbed it.

"Follow me, guys!" Sora flipped the Oathkeeper in his hands. "I've got another idea."

With Donald and Goofy flying on either side of him, Sora aimed for Chernabog's chest. When they were close enough, Sora touched the tip of the Keyblade to the monster, just as he felt the heat from the volcano below beginning to become more intense, in preparation for an eruption. They didn't have much time.

"Touch your weapons to the Keyblade, quick!" Sora ordered, as Donald and Goofy quickly obeyed and just tipped their weapons against the ornate white blade.

Sora channeled Donald and Goofy's power, along with his own, into a mystical attack with the Keyblade. A complex pattern of bright-golden designs sprung from the tip of the blade and covered Chernabog's chest in a triangular pattern. It spun and twisted and thin lines of light began to creep out from it in different directions.

_Trinity Limit._

With the heat becoming nearly intolerable, the three friends quickly flew back and away from Chernabog, just as the volcano erupted high into the air again, obscuring the demon from view._  
_From inside the inferno, the monster screamed.

When the fire and lava had cleared, Sora watched through a reflect shield as Chernabog shrieked and wailed, tearing at its black flesh with its gigantic talons while the golden light zigzagged across its charred skin. Just as the rows of light reached the tips of its wings, Chernanbog exploded into blue and white fire, completely eclipsing its entire body.  
When the light faded, nothing was left but an empty volcano. The falling lava splattered into the ground below like rain. Then all was silent again.  
Drifting slowly, Sora, Donald and Goofy approached the empty volcano.

"What _was _that thing?" Donald asked.

"It could've been a Heartless—!" Sora flicked the Keyblade back into nothing. "But...I don't really think it was."

"I don't really want to think about it anymore..." Goofy shivered.

By now, the three had landed on the lip of the volcano and were staring down into its depths. On one side, it descended deeper into the ground, still maintaining a red glow within it. The other side, however, held a wide ledge that blocked most of the view of the deeper volcano. On that ledge, against the wall, there was a tall, white door with stain-glass windows decorating its edges.

"What's that?" Donald asked.

Sora peered down over the edge of the volcano at the lonesome white door, strangely mesmerized by it. In his head, Sora heard a voice, remembering it like one would remember it dream. Where had he heard that voice before?

"_Beyond lies no light to protect you. But fear not, your heart is the mightiest weapon of all."_

…_.._

"_Remember, Sora, you are the one who will open the Door to Light."_

"Sora?" Sora felt Donald's feathered hand knocking on his skull. "Sora, you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Sora responded, shaking his head. What was that?

"I guess we should head down and check out that door, huh?" Goofy suggested.

Descending down to the door was quick and silent. Goofy and Donald looked around furtively while in the volcano, like they expected it to erupt at any second, while Sora's only interest lay in the door. He felt like there was something extremely important behind it.

When he reached it, Sora stretched out his hand and took hold of the ornate, golden handle.

_Something..._

Wish a push and a click, he slowly moved the door open.

_Like..._

Behind the door lay a very familiar scene.

_Home?_

Stretching out before Sora lay dark green trees, soft, tan sand, a clear, blue ocean and an endless sky. Rickety wooden boardwalks traversed the landscape, and a long bridge led to a little islet off the coast containing an old tree with a horizontal trunk.

Stretching out before Sora lay Destiny Islands.

"Is this...is this my Island?" Sora asked no one, completely stunned.

"This world has been connected..." A deep voice rang out over the air, low and monotone. It was the same voice Sora had heard so long ago in the Secret Place. It was the voice that had spoken in disturbing tandem with Riku's. It was the the voice that had tormented Sora's dreams and only just moments ago tortured his reality-the voice of a madman-

Ansem.

* * *

_Wow. That got really dark, really fast. Always darkest before the dawn, I suppose._

_Hope you enjoyed. Only three chapters left!_

_~Mars_

_PS. On my previous chapter(although he reviewed under chapter1) a reviewer stated that I was not truly writing fanfiction, as I was just copying and pasting from the game, and that it was terrible. I found this review a little unfortunate, and I wanted to know the rest of your thoughts. This was part of my response to that reviewer:_

"Well, you're quite right. I am writing a novelization of the game. However, I must disagree with you saying that I am "copying and pasting". if you read the story, a great deal of it follows the game's formula and plot, but another great deal I made up myself. I added dialogue, removed dialogue, added scenes and removed scenes. This is no different than someone making a novelization of a movie, like most movies nowadays do.

I am, infact, writing this novelizations to set up for several future, full-lenth stories(such as my own KH3 or my own prequel) If you don't want to read what you already know, then you are free to come back later when I get to KH3.

This is absolutely a fanfiction because I am taking inspiration from an original creation to write a story. It is hardly a copied narrative. Do you remember the descriptions in the game? the violence? certain dialogues? I made all the writing part of this up. I hardly copy and pasted it. If taking things from the original game exactly makes something not fanfiction, then nothing on this site is fanfiction. Fanfiction, by its nature, is derivative. Now, if I had just pasted the script, I might agree with you. But I wrote a story, a larger story, around it. If you read the story, it's a bit different than what you might remember the from the game. True, it will follow the basic plot to its conclusion from the game, but there will be a few twists and turns along the way."

_What is the rest of your guy's opinion? Am I just "copying and pasting"?_


	23. Ansem, Lover of Darkness

_So, as always, I don't own Kingdom Hearts.  
This chapter is gonna be a kinda bridge to the ending, so it's kinda short._

* * *

_**Chapter XXIII: Ansem, Lover of Darkness  
**__Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too.  
They live inside us,  
and sometimes,  
they win.  
__~Stephen King_

The Islands were deathly quiet. No waves lapped, no bird chirped, no leaves rustled. The clouds in the sky seemed frozen in their march.

"Tied to the darkness..." Ansem's voice said quietly, as a whisper. As his words climbed across the Island, pieces of the landscape began to disappear. First, the bridge to the Paopu islet. Then the first large tree, on the western side of the Island, leaving the still ocean in its place. "Soon to be completely eclipsed."

The ocean, all the way to the horizon, lost its beautiful, clear blue hue and turned a dark shade of purple.

Ansem, "There is so very much to learn. You understand so little."

The whole island quaked once, and the small seaside shack disappeared, along with the Paopu islet itself.

"A meaningless effort." Ansem's voice took on a bitter tone, as if disgusted at Sora's ignorance. "One who knows nothing can understand nothing."

Another quake, and the shore of the island started to crack, allowing dark purple crags to work their way halfway across the beach, cleaving it into disjointed pieces. Where the westernmost giant tree of the island had been, a strange purple and blue shape had appeared. It was almost beyond Sora's capability to understand, but it had points like a star and was unnaturally formed—Sora thought of a strange virus when he saw it. It took over the next closest tree, making it look as if it had become a purple rock—completely sickly.

Looking toward the ocean, Sora saw Riku standing at the edge of shore, in the midst of the broken ground, looking out over the sea. Sora jumped down to the beach and ran toward him.

"Take a look at this tiny place..." Riku spoke with Ansem's voice. "To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison, surrounded by water." Riku gestured widely, and chuckled. "And so, _this boy _sought out to escape from his prison. He sought a way to cross-over into other worlds." Riku shook his head, patronizingly. "and he opened his heart to darkness."

Riku turned to face Sora, and as he turned, his body slowly morphed into Ansem's tanned, white-coated form.

"Riku!" Sora yelled involuntarily, knowing that that form had not really been his friend.

"Don't bother. Your voice can no longer reach him where he is. His heart belongs again to darkness." Ansem steepled his fingers. "All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The Heart is no different! Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is its nature!"

Sora didn't know how it happened. There were no flashes, no darkness, but suddenly, Ansem was floating behind Sora, arms crossed across his chest.

"In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came! You see, darkness is the heart's _true _essence." Ansem closed his eyes pleasurably, as if he was tasting the darkness itself.

"That's not true!" Sora yelled, clenching his fists. "The heart may be weak, and sometime it may even give in, but I've learned that, deep down, there's a light that never goes out!"

Donald and Goofy nodded firmly in agreement.

Ansem sighed and shook his head, as if tired by a particularly dense student. "So, you have this far and still you understand nothing. Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!"

Floating higher into the air, Ansem raised his arms and spoke.

"Come, Guardian!"

Behind him, a large Heartless appeared. It had a demonic head, with two large antennae that sprouted from its forehead like fat horns, and two smaller ones that fell from the back of its head. Its eyes were yellow and slanted, with a grinning row of teeth beneath them only just slightly covered by crisscrossing, gray bandages. The Heartless had a triangular, muscular body that ended in a wisp below the torso, with two long, muscled black arms. More bandages crisscrossed and were wrapped around his upper chest, just above a heart shape hole that cut through its body.

"This is it, guys!" Sora nodded to Donald and Goofy, who had already pulled out their weapons. Sora called upon the Oathkeeper and faced the smirking Ansem.

The Guardian Heartless reared back and started throwing disks of arcing dark energy along the ground towards the three, forcing them to jump quickly out of the way. Rolling to his feet, Sora quickly tossed the Keyblade in a spinning circle at Ansem. The Guardian snatched it out of the air before it reached its calm target and tossed it to the beach. As Sora called it back, Goofy threw his shield, as well, spinning through the air. This attack, however, hit the Guardian in its right antennae, slicing it cleanly off. Goofy caught the shield as is arced back to him.

"Gotcha!" he chuckled.

"Thunder!" Donald called, forcing a flash of lightning to crash into Ansem and the heartless. Ansem shook it off.

"Can you not see it? At the end of everything," Ansem spoke confidently. "darkness is the only thing that can remain! Darkness is the universe's natural state, it is only the introduction of light that destroys the order."

Ansem moved toward Sora, and the Guardian swiped down at the boy. Blocking the strike with the Keyblade, Sora moved for a stab at Ansem. Ansem simply glided to side, calmly, arms still crossed across his chest.

"Your evolution back into darkness is nearly complete, Keyblade Master" Ansem noted.

Sora grunted and swung the Keyblade from the jab, to the left at Ansem. The Guardian reached down and grabbed Sora's wrist in its massive hand, stopping the attack cold. Lifting Sora up, the Guardian simply flicked the boy to the side.

"Blizzard! Fire! Thunder!" Donald called out, mixing his spells up. A few hit their mark, a few didn't.

Sora turned in the air and landed on his feet, skidding across the sand. Stopping himself, Sora charged and leapt at Ansem, swinging the Oathkeeper down at him. The Guardian, however, grabbed Sora on the downswing by the scruff of his jacket and drew him close to Ansem's face. Sora stared into those yellow eyes, closer than he would ever want to be, and he felt the darkness seep around him. "Remove all else, and only darkness will remain." Ansem whispered fiendishly, then spread his arms. "Thus, come, open your heart!"

A bright cage of energy appeared around Ansem, its edges just where Sora was being held. The energy zapped Sora, throwing him across the beach into the sand.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy called out simultaneously.

* * *

Ansem laughed; a thick, darkness drenched sound, "The Darkness is not yet deep enough." Ansem threw his hands toward the ground, fingers bent and arced, and the entire earth became covered in pitch black darkness. The sky, as well, turned an empty dark.

Donald and Goofy watched as the Guardian descended into the dark ground. Suddenly, a yellow circle appeared below Donald and the Guardian flew out of it, throwing Donald backwards. The circle appeared in front of Goofy, and the knight turned and ran from the approaching Guardian—its circle of yellow following him behind.

Ansem's voice rose. "What do you hope to accomplish?"

Goofy turned, just as the circle appeared again in front of him, and smashed his shield down as the head of the Guardian appeared. Quickly, it descended back into the hole. The circlet of yellow moved across the dark beach to where Sora lay, now only just pulling himself to his feet.

Looking up, Sora saw the Guardian Heartless hanging menacingly over him. Before he could even react, the Heartless dove toward him and, instead of attacking him, sank _inside _of him.

"Sora! No!" Goofy yelled.

* * *

Sora turned and vomited darkness upon the beach, as he felt the horrible creature inside of him. It tugged at his mind and at his heart. He felt it in every part of him. Ansem's darkness was inside of him.

"Do not deny your fate!" Ansem demanded from across the beach. Sora felt his heart begin to weaken as the Guardian attacked it directly. With his mind still struggling to comprehend what had just happened, Sora felt himself begin to drift into a trance-like state. His world turned completely dark, except for the floating form of Ansem. He stood and started walking toward the man.

A grin tugged at Ansem's lips, and he gestured his arms wide. "Welcome, Sora. Just open your heart."

"Fire! Fire! Fire! " Sora's trance snapped slightly, enough to to see Donald shooting off fire spells at Ansem, all of which hit their mark. "Fire!"

Sora felt the Guardian vacate his body, and moved back to in front of Ansem, deflecting the spells from hitting its master. Sora stumbled forward, thrown off by the Guardian's disappearance, and caught himself by stabbing the Keyblade into the ground.

"Is that the best you got, Ansem?" Sora coughed, a slight grin across his lips, and looked up the evil man.

Ansem grinned in return. "The Final Darkness is now."

With that, sudden eruptions of dark energy started exploding from the ground, all across the beach. Sora pushed himself forward, dodging the eruptions, as he made his way toward Ansem. Swinging upward at the Heartless, Sora cleaved off a few of its fingers, as Goofy dove in from above and knocked the Heartless away from Ansem and toward the ground.

Ansem looked down at Sora disdainfully. "How far do you intend to take this, Keyblade Master?"

The Guardian Heartless slipped around Goofy's grasp and grabbed the knight from behind, throwing him across the beach before returning to its place behind Ansem's confident form.

"Blizzard!" Donald's spell connected with Ansem in his midsection, causing a semicircle of ice to form around the floating man. As the Guardian moved in front of him, Ansem melted the ice with blue fire. The blue fire formed into a rounded energy field, and the Heartless reared back.

Sora jumped out of the way just in time, as the Heartless and Ansem, behind the energy field, charged forward. Donald, who couldn't move as quickly, was hit by the passing edge of the energy, sending the duck mage tumbling.

Ansem and his Heartless turned around at the far end of the beach, and charged back—faster this time. Sora had no time to move, and was thrown, hard, into what was left of the wooden dock behind him. Laying on the hard, black wood. Sora took a breath, and felt something jabbing into his thigh. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the two glowing summoning orbs.

How had he forgotten these!

Seeing Ansem coming around for another charge, Sora threw the orbs up in the air and quickly unlocked both of them with the Keyblade.

After all, who had ever said he couldn't use both charms at the same time? Sora asked himself, quite proud.

Just as in Agrabah and Neverland before, the orbs glowed and time slowed to a stop around Sora. From within the orbs, Simba the lion and Mushu the 'mighty dragon' emerged.

"Sora? What's going on?" Simba asked.

"Woah! That looks like one bad dude!" Mushu gestured toward Ansem, crawling up and hiding behind Simba's mane.  
"I need your guys' help again." Sora said. "This is the man who took your worlds. If we can defeat him, I think all your worlds will be returned!"

Simba and Mushu's mouths were wide open in shock.

"So can you-" Sora started.

"Hey, you don't even need to ask!" Mushu interlocked his fingers and cracked them, followed by cracking his neck as well.

Simba nodded. "We'll save our worlds."

Together, Simba roared and Mushu blasted a stream of fire into the powerful roar, the entire attack directed at Ansem.

As time started to speed back up, Sora yelled to Simba. "Hey! Before, in Agrabah, you said 'Hakuna Matata'. What does it mean?"

Simba smiled a wide grin across his furry face. "It means no worries, Sora."

"See ya, Spiky!" Mushu waved, just before both creatures disappeared in a flash of light.

No worries?

Time completely reverted, and Ansem's charge stopped in its tracks, as the air-ripping, fiery roar crashed into the Guardian. The Heartless screamed, and began to convulse in the air. Below it, a dark portal opened up, and started to drag it down. It's huge arms grasping at the air, and at Ansem, the Guadian Heartless was dragged into the dark hole, which then dissipated into mist.

Ansem floated still for a moment, watching where his Guardian had disappeared.

"Now that-" his golden yellow eyes looked up at Sora. "was quite impressive, Keyblade Master. Allow me to return the favor."

Reaching his white gloved hands toward Donald and Goofy, darkness sprouted from his fingers and latched onto the two Disney residents. Lifting their squirming forms into the air, Ansem threw them violently into the purple, rock-like tree. Their bodies each connected with a deafening crack, and they fell to the ground, limp.

Sora stared in shock at his friend's bodies, before the memory of seeing their dead forms in the apparition of Deep Junge flashed across his mind, replacing the current scene with that. Sora felt the anger and pain well up inside of him.

"ANSEM!" Sora screamed and charged toward the floating figure.

Ansem turned from facing where he had thrown the two, just in time to see Sora's feet headed toward him. With a mighty jump, Sora landed his feet, propelled off of Ansem's chest and, in the air, angled the Oathkeeper Keyblade at the monster. From the tip of the blade, a dozen red lasers of light shot out in a spinning, circular pattern. They twisted and spun and every single one stabbed into Ansem's chest.

The powerful attack forced Ansem from the air and sent him crashing into the beach, slight smoke rising from his chest.

Sora landed on his feet, panting from the exertion. Just then, he felt another quake and looked out into the purple ocean.

A giant tidal wave was headed toward the island. Sora didn't move, couldn't move, he just stood and watched as the giant wave bellowed, closer and closer. It was big enough to swallow the entire island!

Out of the corner of his eye, Sora saw Ansem reach out for the wave, desiringly.

Sora sighed and closed his eyes, the wave's roar covering his ears.

No worries.

* * *

_The reason why Donald and Goofy couldn't fight alongside Sora in the second battle always seemed really flimsy to me. So here, we have one entire, three-page-long, epic duel!_

_These two last chapters will be up together, then just wait a few days for the Epilogue._

_~Mars_


	24. Until I See You Again

_I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Surprisingly, even after writing this story. Who would've guessed._

_I hope you enjoyed that fight with Ansem in the previous chapter. Who's ever heard of two chapters in one day? Well, now you have. :D_

* * *

_**Chapter XXIV: Until I See You Again  
**__When you walk away  
__You don't hear me say  
__(Please, oh baby, don't go)  
__Simple and Clean  
__Is the way that you're making me feel tonight.  
__It's hard to let it go...  
__~Simple and Clean by Utada Hikaru_

Sora found himself standing on a piece of land, floating in a dark abyss. Thick, black clouds swirled around him in every direction, infinitely high above and below. The section of land he was on was completely covered in white, but even touching it, Sora couldn't figure out if it was snow or ash. The land piece was about the half the size of Kinshou, with tall, white covered projections, shaped as disjointed christmas trees, shooting out from the ground around the edges of the land platform.

At the opposite side of the land, a huge double door stood alone. So large that it was _at least_ two stories tall, it had diamond shaped, multi-colored stain glass windows built into each side of it. The double door was a pure white shade, almost pink, and nearly a light on its own among the dark clouds.

Seeing Donald and Goofy's crumpled forms laying a few yards away, Sora jogged over to them and, seeing that they were still breathing, quickly cast a Cura spell on each.

"Behold the Endless Abyss! Within it lies the Heart of All Worlds: Kingdom Hearts!" Sora looked up to see Ansem descending from the dark sky. The man touched down on the white ground across from Sora. So that door...was Kingdom Hearts? Sora had no time to think about the fact before he turned to help Donald and Goofy up.

"Look as hard as you are able! You'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born!" Ansem looked pointedly at Sora. "Even yours!"

Ansem coughed, and a bit of darkness dribbled down his chin. He wiped it away with his white glove. "Darkness conquers all worlds." he said, finally.

Sora called upon the Keyblade and took a few steps forward, just as the mental effort from the two Cura spells started to weigh upon his mind. Pushing through, Sora took a few more drunken steps. He was so tired. From the End of the World. From Ansem. From everything.

Ansem smiled through another cough. "It is futile. The Keyblade alone cannot hinder me, nor seal the Door to Darkness."

As Sora supported himself on the Keyblade, Ansem turned to face the white door.

"KINGDOM HEARTS!" Ansem's deep voice yelled. "Fill me with the power of darkness!"

The giant double door slowly cracked in the middle, and both sides started to creak open. From within, wispy tendrils of darkness started to snake loose and creep their way out.

Sora bit his lip. What could he do now? It was over. Ansem was releasing the darkness from Kingdom Hearts and there was nothing he could do. The Door was already opening.

"_Giving up already? Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that." _

Riku?

"_Yeah, c'mon, Sora, everyone's waiting."_

Kairi?

With the words of his friends echoing in his head, Sora straightened his back and stood tall. Thinking of Kairi, he suddenly remembered her Grandmother's story about light always being found in the deepest of darkness. And earlier, when he had found hope at rock bottom, in the most horrible of darkness. And if that door was the Door to Darkness, and Ansem had called this the Endless Abyss, then Kingdom Hearts must be inside the real deepest point of the Realm of Darkness...therefore, Kingdom Hearts must be-

"Supreme Darkness!" Ansem's final proclamation echoed throughout the void.

"Cure." Sora felt Donald's hand on his thigh, and the healing magic completely fill him. Donald nodded.

He had good friends.

"You're wrong!" Sora yelled. "I know now, without a doubt, that Kingdom Hearts is light!"

The great door moved another inch, but instead of darkness creeping out, a great blast of the purest light shot through and enveloped Ansem, temporarily blinding Sora.

"Impossible!" Ansem wheezed. "Light...but...but why...?"

The great light intensified and shot straight through Ansem, completely obliterating him.

When Sora opened his eyes, Ansem was gone.

But the door wasn't closing, and the darkness was creeping out again.

"Hurry!" Sora said. "We've got to close it!"

Just because Kingdom Hearts was light, didn't mean it wasn't surrounded by darkness.

Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly rushed to the door, Donald and Goofy taking one side, Sora taking the other, they started to push as hard as they were able. They door inched, slightly. Sora could feel the darkness wrapping around him.

To his left, Sora heard Goofy gasp, and looked to see that Goofy had peeked through the door. Prompted by Goofy's reaction, Sora looked in as well and was shocked to see millions and millions of Heartless, with millions and millions of glowing yellows eyes in the darkness. They convulsed and twisted and moved like a giant pile of snakes. That had to be the Realm of Darkness, and right now, Sora, Donald and Goofy were the only ones standing between it and the rest of the worlds.

"Less staring, more pushing!" Donald yelled and attacked the door with new efforts.

"I-" Sora strained, breathing hard. Still tired. "I can't..."

Suddenly, a gloved hand grabbed at the edge of the door from the inside.

"Don't give up!" Sora looked up and was shocked to see Riku pulling at the door from inside the Realm of Darkness. "Come on, Sora, together we can do it!"

Sora's brain saw Riku—same silver hair, same mint eyes—in shock, and was surprised when his body, pushed on by the gravity of the moment, shoved his back against the door.

"Okay, Riku."

Sora pushed.

Donald pushed.

Goofy pushed.

Riku pulled.

The Door to Darkness continued to inch closed.

The Heartless, however, were moving to quickly. The swarm of yellow eyes were only yards from the door.

"It's hopeless." Donald whispered..

Out of nowhere, the first few hungry eyes disappeared into a black mist. Than three more. Than another five. In the darkness, the light glinted off of a golden Keyblade, grasped expertly in the little hand of a small creature, only a little ways bigger than the sword he held. The figure had a round head, long nose, bright eyes and two round ears on the top of its head.

Another twelve Heartless were gone by the time Sora registered this new person fully. Beside him, Donald and Goofy both gasped. "Your Majesty!"

"Now, Sora, let's close this door for good!" A high-pitched, but warm and kind, voice declared.

As if new life had been breathed into him, Donald shoved on the door. "Close it, quick!"

"But..." Sora faltered as he realized that Riku and the mouse-like creature who was Donald and Goofy's King would be stuck inside. How could he trap them in there!

As if knowing Sora's thoughts, the mouse King looked over his shoulder and Sora could've sworn he smiled at him warmly. "Don't worry. There will always be a door to the light."

"Sora, you can trust King Mickey." Goofy encouraged.

"Now, Sora! They're coming!" Riku released the door and pulled out his own sword, the one he had had in Hollow Bastion, and moved to beside the King.

"Donald...Goofy..." the King smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

Donald and Goofy both smiled in return, nodded, and continued pushing at the door. Sora was still hesitant. In the darkness, Riku hefted his sword and looked directly at Sora. Volumes were spoken in that glance. Apologies. Promises. But Riku said only one thing.

"Take care of her."

Sora immediately nodded, and nothing more needed to be said, because Riku was really back.  
Sora took his place, braced himself, and shoved the door with all his might. The great, white doors inched closer and closer together, until they were centimeters away from meeting. Sora's last view of Riku was a picture of his friend diving sword-first into the swarm of Heartless, beside the diminutive King.

_Be safe, Riku._

When the door clicked shut, Sora stepped back and raised the glowing Oathkeeper Keyblade high.

* * *

Inside the Door to Darkness, King Mickey Mouse smiled proudly back at the closed door.

That was that.

Donald and Goofy had done a proud job, his dear friends.

The Mouse King stepped forward and pointed his own golden Keyblade at the Door.

* * *

With a ground-shaking click, the Door was covered in an ascending light. When the light reached the top, the Door began to dissolve into twinkles of light from the ground up. When the Door faded, Sora was shocked to see something completely unexpected standing at the edge of the landmass beyond it:

Kairi, looking about at her surroundings confusedly.

All other thoughts vanished from his mind for the moment, as he raced across the platform to where she stood.

"Kairi!"

"Sora!" Kairi took a step forward. "Last I knew—we were about to leave Traverse Town-"

Suddenly, the ground quaked and the area Kairi had been standing on broke off from the snowy, ashen ground. Sora then realized, for the first time, that Kairi had been standing on a round area of _beach _sand.

As Sora felt the two summoning orbs disappear from inside his pocket, he realized that the worlds must be reforming.

At a second quake, Kairi lost her balance and fell forward a little. Reaching out, Sora caught her by the hand and held her up across the widening gap between them—growing ever separate as the beach pulled away from the snow. Sora wanted nothing more than to jump across to be with her, but he knew he had to find Riku and the King.

Sora knew, though, that he would remember this moment forever, etched into the walls of his heart, just like the cave back home. He'd remember forever the softness of Kairi's hand in his, how she could probably feel all the callouses he had acquired from wielding the Keyblade, how it felt to feel her hand slowly slip out of his. Her face, her clothes, her eyes.

All of it. He'd remember.

"Kairi, remember what you said before?" Sora asked urgently, "Well, I'm always with you, too! I'll come back to you! I promise!"

Kairi nodded, her eyes gleaming. She understood. "I know you will!"

At that moment, the two pieces of land became far too distant for their arms, and their fingers slipped from each other's.

But, still, they kept reaching.

As Sora watched Kairi fade into the distance, he saw faraway lights begin to fall, and Destiny Islands slowly started to reform around her. The Island was sprouting back up as the lights hit it. There was the shack! There was the islet! There was the cave!  
Just as Kairi was almost blocked from view by distance and a descending blue mist, Sora realized that he had never told Kairi that he loved her. How had he forgotten!  
All pretenses, all anxiety, all fear gone, Sora yelled his love across the breach, just as Kairi was completely hidden from view.

He liked to think the message got through.

* * *

Days later, Kairi found herself wandering Kinshou, her mind preoccupied with re-watching Sora disappear into the distant blues without her. Why hadn't she just jumped over to him? Then she would've known what he yelled to her just before he disappeared...

Every inch of Destiny Islands had returned—from Morningheath, to the faraway Western Isles. The general populace was still trying to come to grips with what had just happened—most chocked it up to the worst tropical storm in history. They were still trying to find a number of missing persons—Sora and Riku among them—but Kairi knew, sadly, that most would never be found.

She held out hope for Sora and Riku though.

In her walk, Kairi found herself inside of the Secret Place. She figured she had been drawn there from her desire to see Sora and Riku. As she took small steps around the room, admiring and silently laughing at the pictures on the walls, her eyes fell onto one in particular.

Down near the ground, beside the oaken door, Kairi saw the picture of her and Sora that they had drawn so many years ago. However, now, there was an added image of Sora handing Kairi a paopu fruit.

Kairi's eyes widened.

Had Sora done that?

He...he loved her?

She fell to her knees to study the picture closer, her hand feeling along its edges. Well, maybe he didn't. Maybe it just meant that they were best friends. Perhaps it just meant their destinies were intertwined forever.

But, then again, maybe, impossibly, perhaps, it meant that he loved her.

And Kairi, all alone in the Secret Place, couldn't help but desperately hope that it was the latter.

A single tear broke from her eye and traced a glistening path down her cheek.

Oh, Sora...

Kairi slowly picked up one of the chalk rocks, judging the weight in her hands. (her eyes slowly filling)

Sora had always been...such a lazy bum.(she smiled through tears as she drew)

He hadn't even finished the picture.

The sound of scratching chalk echoed throughout the Secret Place.

He hadn't drawn a paopu from her side, to his.

* * *

_D'Awwwwwwww... :(_

_~Mars._


	25. The Greatest Adventure

_Not even here, at the end, do I own Kingdom Hearts._

* * *

_**Epilogue: The Greatest Adventure  
**__The Greatest Adventure is what lies ahead,  
__today and tomorrow are yet to be said.  
__The chances, the changes, are all yours to make.  
__The mold of your life is in your hands to break.  
__~Jules Bass_

_**~~The March Caprice~~**_

Alice parted her way through the hedges, coming upon a white fence. Well, this certainly wasn't the way home, either.  
She turned to leave, but, off in the distance, she heard the sound of an uproarious melody.

"A very merry unbirthday to me!"

* * *

"Next time, don't let your guard down because of a pair of big, goo-goo eyes!" Phil admonished angrily.

Hercules screwed up his face for a response, before he caught sight of the goo-goo eyes in question, staring back at him from beside the lake.

Then he didn't hear Phil at all for awhile.

* * *

Tarzan, guiding Jane loosely by the shoulders, slid expertly atop the massive, twisting vines across Deep Jungle. When they reached the apex of the vines, at the tip of the waterfall, Tarzan let out a deep, victorious gorilla yell.  
Jane followed his example admirably.

* * *

"Do you trust me?"

Jasmine looked up at Aladdin, atop his carpet, and took his outstretched hand.

"Yes."

"Well, then I can show you the world."

* * *

Laughter and dance filled Geppeto's house, as Pinocchio was held tightly in his father's spinning grip.

He was a real boy. And neither of them would be alone now.

* * *

Ariel had swum to the surface to see what the giant shadow that had passed over her grotto had been. Now, she watched as a handsome, black haired man—_without fins-_direct the path of this giant, wooden...thing.

If only she could go...closer...

* * *

Jack Skellington laughed as all the little children screamed and ducked and hid at the spooky climax to his thrilling story. Sally smiled sweetly from behind the group. Jack only smiled more. This was what he lived for.

This was Halloween.

* * *

"Mommy! Mommy! I saw him again! The Green Boy! He was talking to a girl on the Clocktower! Oh, mommy, do you think they're in love?"

* * *

Winnie the Pooh, honey pot in hand, led the group of his dear friends toward the Viewing Hill.  
They were going to try and count the stars again tonight. He was sure they'd be able to do it, with all of them counting together.

* * *

"Hey, everyone! Look who I found!" Aerith smiled in her voice as she entered the library of Hollow Bastion. Stepping away from the door, she revealed Cloud standing in the doorway, cape tucked up to his face.

"CLOUD!" Yuffie screeched, thrilled, and dove towards the stoic figure. As she jumped, Cloud pulled out his giant sword and pointed it at the ninja girl, stopping her in her tracks.

The room immediately dropped to complete silence, Yuffie's face fell.

"Sorry. Force of habit." Cloud dipped the sword to the ground.

After a moment of silence, Yuffie bounced back and grinned wide. "Now we just need Vincy, Tifa and Merlin and we'll be all together again!"

"We won't _all _be together. Ever" Leon turned back to the bookcase he had been looking through. "Not anymore."

* * *

The Mayor of Destiny Islands couldn't help but wonder why his daughter watched the ocean so much nowadays.

* * *

By Sora's reckoning it was now the 5th of September. The almost-just-starting-to-turn leaves of the trees, scattered around the endless green field, only supported that idea. When the Endless Abyss had dissolved around them, Sora, Donald and Goofy had been deposited in this measureless green field, with just a single brown, dirt path stretching through it.

"Well, now what do we do?" Donald asked, sighing as they started to climb a hill.

"We gotta find Riku and the King." Sora responded, walking lazily, with his hands behind his head.

"But, uh," Goofy spoke up. "Where do we start looking for that there door to the light?"

"This way." Sora pointed down the brown dirt road as they crested the hill. The path stretched on forever, endlessly dividing a sea of green as far as the eye could see. It meandered and twisted and disappeared behind another hill in the far distance.

Donald gasped. "Sora! This road goes on forever!"

"Probably." Sora's face shone with excitement and he grinned. "Wanna race?"

Donald massaged his forehead. "Why am I stuck with you..."

"But how do you know this is the way, Sora?" Goofy asked.

"'Just do." Sora turned and, gripping a star-shaped charm tightly in his hand, sprinted off.

"And that's just a terrific reason..." Donald groaned, but opted to chase after his friend anyway.

And thus they ran, deeper and further into the Plains of Infinity, continuing onwards into an unknown future.

Simply following their hearts.

_Thinking of You, Wherever You Are._

* * *

_FADE TO AWESOME. _

_And that's that. Thanks for all the reviews and well-wishes this whole time, guys! You all rock!_

_Anywho, I hope you all stick around for Kingdom Hearts II! As for me, I'm off to play said game for the purpose of copying down the script. Look for the prologue in the close-recent-far-near future!_

_Onwards to that future!_

_~Mars_


End file.
